Little Wonders
by aislingforstars
Summary: RT. A couple struggling to keep their relationship from the brink of falling apart. Trying to keep all negative thoughts at bay. But most of, trying to get the people around them to believe in them. WIP. previously titled 'Fairy Tales' Chapter one revised
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: **_sadly, I do not own Gilmore Girls_

**Summery: **_Rory and Tristan struggle when their relationship is on the brink of falling a part. Trying to keep the negative thoughts at bay. But most of all, trying to get those around them to believe in them. _

**Timeline: **_Everything up the The Third Lorelai has happened, everything after that is all my imagination. The piano kiss, Rory trying to set Tristan up with Partis - all happened. This is set about six months after TTL and will take place in December, because I deem it necessary. And everything that happened inbetween will be explained with flashbacks. Happy Reading. _

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--xX**Little Wonders**Xx--

_Preface_

_This may never start  
We could fall apart  
And I'd be your memory  
Lost your sense of fear  
Feelings insincere  
Can I be your memory?_

Rory ran down the empty halls of Chilton, one hand smoothing out her skirt, the other balancing her books in her arm. She was late - beyond late. Her first class had started thirty-five minutes ago. Reaching her locker, she dumped her armful on the ground in front of her before she reached up, throwing her hair up into a messy bun.

Spinning the combination of her locker, she felt like crying when she gave the final spin and lifted the lever and the metal door wouldn't open. "You can't do this to me, not now!" Balling her fist up, she pounded on the already dented metal. When it didn't budge, her the panic begin to rise.

Hearing footsteps in the hall, she felt a sudden ball of hope. Swiveling, her eyes found

the tall, built form of Tristan DuGrey. Her heart leapt into her throat, beating wildly as his eyes landed on her messy form, the pile of books at her feet. Giving her a look she knew so well, she moved out of the way without thought as he walked over, giving the locker a good punch and with a squeak, it swung up. He gave her a worried look and whispered "Later" as his hand trailed over her lower back before he disappeared into their first period class.

Shoving her books into her locker, save for the ones she needed, grabbing her notebook and backpack from the ground and rushed to what was left of her first class. She hesitated at the front of the door, wishing she had a large mug of coffee with her. Sighing at the inevitable, she pushed the door open and immediately felt all eyes on her.

She knew what they were all thinking and didn't wish to explain in front of any of them. She could already imagine the snickers for Rory Gilmore being late to class. As Mr. Flanagan turned, spotting the intrusion in the class, she tucked the loose strands of her hair behind her ear, her cheeks burning red as everyone in the room eyed her.

"Miss Gilmore, please take your seat and see me after class." was all he said before he turned back toward the black board and continued on.

As she slid into her seat, she could hear the whispers and laughs around her. Taking out her notebook and No. 2 pencil, she deftly copied the notes onto her paper. Feeling a sudden breath on her neck, a shiver race down her spine, and immediately knew he was leaning forward.

"Mare, late to class this is unheard of." he whispered.

Once more she got the familiar heated sensation where his breath hit the back of her neck. She moved her hand to the back of her head, making a gesture to shoo him away.

Tristan smirked at her reaction. "So, you think you'll get in trouble?" he asked, letting his warm breath dance teasingly across her exposed skin. She tried ignoring him as she continued writing her notes but the feeling of his breath across her skin was so inviting to loose herself in. "So, I was think-"

The rest of his sentence was lost as Mr. Flanagan's voice rang out, interrupting him, "Mr. Dugrey, what is so important that you couldn't wait to ask Miss Gilmore until _after_ class?"

Rory felt her cheeks flare up even more as once again, all eyes were on her, looking between the pair in question. "I was just curious to see why she was late for class." replied Tristan, a smirk stretching his lips.

Davin Flanagan nodded. "Oh I see, you thought you would play teacher,"

Tristan's lips stretched tighter over his teeth in annoyance. "No, sir."

Mr Flanagan eyed him, every teacher knew to keep an eye on Tristan. "Well, you can hold your curiosity until after my class or you'll find yourself in _more_ detention, understood?"

Ignoring the snickers around him, Tristan nodded, knowing another detention would get him in trouble with his parents. "Understood."

"As I was saying," Davin continued on with the lecture, turning back to the board.

The rest of the lesson continued on without a hitch after that point, notes being passed from one student to others. But for the rest of the class, the only thing she felt on her were his eyes. She couldn't explain how she knew but she just did, she always knew when he was staring at her.

As the bell rang, all of her classmates made a break for the door. She noticed Tristan hesitate and look back at her for a minute before he continued on his way. Sighing, she grabbed her yellow bag from the floor and nervously walked up to the front desk. She had been asked to stay behind before but it was never because she was in trouble. "You wanted to see me, Sir?"

He looked up from the papers he had spread out in front of him, easing his glasses off the bridge of his nose to rest just on the top of his head. "Yes Miss Gilmore," he said, "it was quite a shock not to see you in class when I arrived, even more so that you were late. Would you care to explain why. It's not your normal habit to be late to a class."

Rory looked down, a faint pink creeping into her cheeks. "Because my alarm didn't go off this morning which caused me to miss my bus. Then when my mother told me to take her car, we found out her battery was dead. So we had to run back into town to get my mom's friend to give me a ride and she had to take over his business." she said in one breath.

Mr Flanagan nodded his head, having kept up with her rushed explanation. "Just out of curiosity, what do you mean 'business'?"

As he spoke, Rory picked up a faint Irish accent, wondering briefly why she had never heard it before now. Which explained why Louise and Madeline were always sharing their fantasies involving their favorite teacher. Even going on about how gorgeous he was and how dreamy his eyes were.

"He owns a diner."

He nodded once more, as he opened a draw and pulled out a yellow scrap of papaer. "Understandable."

he said as he signed something down on the paper and handed Rory the slip. "Here you are."

Confused she looked down at the paper in her hand. Worrying her lip, she asked, "What is this?"

"It is your detention slip, Miss Gilmore."

"_My what?_ But I thought you said you understood?" She was positive the color had drained from her face.

He gave her one of the smiles she was sure any one of her female classmates would have fainted over. "I do understand, but I have to give them out to someone who is late and/or miss behaves in my class."

Rory groaned, making a mental note not to be late to any of her classes ever again. "Then why didn't Tristan get one?" she asked lamely.

Mr Flanagan gave her an understanding look, guessing she had never received a detention before. "He did. About two weeks ago and his last detention is today. Now I suggest you get to your next class, you don't want to be late for that one either."

With a tight smile and a nod, she left the classroom. Her eyes were locked on the piece of paper in her hands, her feet following the well-worn path to her locker. She kept her eyes on the slip, almost as if she was expecting it to disappear. Or waiting for someone to jump out and yell April Fool's day!

As she stopped in front of her locker, she let her backpack slide to the floor, landing with a soft thud. Opening her locker with ease, she let out a breath, her eyes returning to the slip she still held lightly in her hands.

Oh God. She had detention!

Rory Gilmore. The girl that was never late for a class, never had a sick day had just received a detention.

What was she going to do? This would be on her permanent record! Harvard and every other school she was going to apply to was going to see this!

A groan tumbled off her lips, her head falling forward to lean against the steel shelf inside her locked.

This was not happening. It could not be happening.

Her stomach growled, reminding her she had yet to eat today which also served as a reminder that she hadn't had any coffee yet.

Boy, what she wouldn't give for a nice big cup of steaming coffee.

There was no way this day could get any worse, she though, first no coffee, now a detention.

"Well, well, well. What do we have here?"

Never mind, she spoke too soon. This was definitely getting worse.

Rory flashed a look at the annoying blond male currently leaning next to her locker.

Why did he always do that leaning thing she wondered, as she looked at him out of the corner of her eye. He was always leaning back in his chair in class and whenever she saw him in the hall, he was leaning against someone's locker. She even noticed a few times when he was driving, he tended to lean toward his center consol.

She would never tell him, though, it was kind of sexy. The way he would lazily lean there and his eyes would be sparking and he would send her one of those smiles that showed how much he took care of his teeth. Or sometimes if the moment was right, he would smirk at her and in a brief moment, she would feel like dragging him into the nearest classroom and doing things that still made her blush.

As she felt her cheeks begin to heat up, she quickly banished the thoughts. Reaching down to grab her yellow bag, she stuffed the detention slip in one of the pockets and sighed. "Tristan... can you just... drop it? Please?"

As he smirked at her, she noticed it was the one that made her want to slap it off his face, not the one that would make her heart rate speed up. "Looks like we have detention together, Mary."

Rolling her eyes, she took a book from her bag and placed it on the shelf before pulling out the one she needed for the next class. Ignoring the male beside her, she quickly arranged her books in the order she liked them to be in.

Figuring she wasn't going to say anything else, Tristan carried on. "You don't have a Franklin meeting after school today, do you? Because Paris is definitely going to be pissed if you can't make it because you landed your ass in detention. People will already be talking, I mean you were late to class and she's bound to find out. Hey, are you okay?" he asked once he noticed she seemed to be frozen in her place and the color had drained from her cheeks.

She slowly turned toward him, her eyes bright and wide as her mind worked in over drive. "Paris is going to _kill_ me. She's just now really talking to me, if she found out _I_ got detention, she's going to think I'm not suitable for the Franklin next year!"

He cursed under his breath, regretting even bringing up Paris in the first place. "Listen, I'm sure it'll be fine and she will understand your car not starting."

"How do you know? I didn't even say anything to you." she asked, desperately wishing for that mug of coffee as she felt the headache building.

Sending a wink her way, he just smiled. "I have my ways."

Feeling a smile tug at her lips, she turned away from him, shutting her locker and adjusting the yellow pack on her shoulder. "Just please don't say anything to her about it until I can talk to her..."

Sighing dramatically he turned until he was standing side-by-side with her and flung his arm over her shoulder. "So much you ask of me. I think I'll manage not to say anything. Do I get a prize for keeping this hush-hush?"

Rory rolled her eyes, hating the smile that was threatening her lips. "And what, may I ask, it is you want?"

Oh she knew what he wanted and if she knew him like she thought she did, he was probably going to get it too. Damming herself for not hating what he did to her, she just went along with it, knowing there was nothing she could do about. Moreover, nothing she wanted to do about it.

Before he could reply, the bell rang. Glancing up at him, she gave him a smile as he led them to their next class.

By the time lunch came around, she left like crawling into a dark hole, away from the school and filled with coffee and pie. Since the winter break was coming up, the teachers were giving out piles of work that would take up her first free week, at least, just to put a dent in the pile. And to top it all off, she was assigned a project with none other than Tristan.

She cringed slightly, knowing they wouldn't get much done, unless she put her foot down. With that in mind, she scanned the cafeteria for a empty spot somewhere. But as her eyes took in the room, she saw it was flowing with students and the rumors alive in the air, carrying from person to person, table to table, one mouth to another. With that in mind, she slipped out to the courtyard, ignoring the chill of the wind, having grown more accustomed to it with all of Stars Hollow's outdoor events.

Having wanted to just come straight to lunch since she missed breakfast, she still had her backpack and set it down next to her, grabbing her jacket out of it she had stuffed into in her rush out of the door this morning. Pulling the zip up, she reached for walkman. Once she had her ear phones in place and the music playing blissfully in her ear, she finally began to eat. Savoring it, even if it was Chilton food.

It was peaceful and wonderful out here, she realized, when her class mates weren't out here mulling around, smoking and sitting on any available surface. It was quiet and serene as the wind blew through the trees, swaying them back and forth. Picking up the leafs and letting them tumble through the air in a joyous winter dance.

Pushing her empty tray away, she pulled her books out, hoping to read a chapter before the bell rang.

**-- xXx --**

Half way through the chapter, she suddenly felt it. It was a chill that tumbled down her spine that had nothing to do with the cold.

The second reaction was a raw heat coiling in her stomach. Oh how it still surprised her that her body still acted like that whenever he was around. She always called it reaction 1 and 2.

He had yet to make his presence known and she knew he was around because of her body and how it seemed to have a mind of its own around him. Dragging in a deep breath, she concentrated on the words in her book.

She knew he was standing just a few feet behind her the way the muscles in her back stiffened then relax. Her breath caught in the back of her throat, refusing to move forward as his lips met the back of her ear, whispering, "If I had known you were out here, I would have been here sooner." Before placing his cold lips on the skin below her ear.

As his lips lightly kissed her sweet spot, Rory couldn't help her eyes fluttering shut before they were gone and he was sitting next to her.

With a light blush on her cheeks, she cleared her throat before taking a sip of her drink. Closing her book and switching off her walkman and place them back in the bag.

It wasn't weird.

Why wasn't it weird?

Should it be weird?

"Urgh", she groaned, confused. Should it be weird? Not really. Did she feel weird? Not at all. So what was the problem? It wasn't like...

"Okay," Tristan said suddenly. "I was coming out here to ask you what you wanted to do about the project..."

Rory sighed, grateful for the distraction. "I was thinking we could meet up whenever you had time, you know, research and take notes because the essay part will be easy once we gather all the information. The great thing is, it's due the day we come back from break so if we can push it, we can have it done before Christmas."

Tristan let out a breath. "Slave driver, you are. But yeah, that sounds good. I'd like to finish this ASAP, I don't want to be buried with work the whole break."

Laughing, Rory nudged him with her elbow. "You don't want to do any type of work."

Smirking, he shook his head, winking at her. "I'll have you know, I do a lot of work, Mary."

Cringing, she scooted away from him. "That's gross, Tristan."

Laughing, he said "Aw, but don't you like it?"

Before she could reply, Paris walked through the door that lead to the cafeteria, her normal expressionless mask in place. "Have you two completely lost your minds?! It's freezing out here, you could get sick! And for some reason, I care since you two are important on the Franklin."

Rolling her eyes, Rory replied, "I have a jacket on, Mother. Besides, I didn't actually feel like eating inside."

Shooting the brunet a glare, Paris flushed, noticing how close they were setting. "I don't care, I just need to know that you won't be gelid later."

Drawing her brows together, Rory asked confused. "Later?"

The blond let out an impatient huff. "Yes, later. The gelidity already affecting you? Besides, didn't Louise tell you we need to have an emergency meeting? Of course not. I knew I should have just told you myself."

"Er, Paris..."

Tristan took one look at Rory's panic stricken face to the red crawling up Geller's neck to know if he didn't say something, it was going to get nasty. "Paris... Rory and I have a school project to work on, which is what we were talking about before you came out."

Rory nodded her head vigorously, thanking the Gods that Tristan could lie. "Yeah, and I haven't even seen Louise all day. Or Madeline..." She, at least, wasn't lying, just adding more cover to the reason she couldn't be in the meeting after school.

"This is just great... I'm gonna kill those two!" she growled, before storming off.

"Was she snarling?" Tristan asked, watching as she stormed back inside.

Rory just nodded her head wordlessly, wondering why Paris hadn't tried to talk her into going to the meeting.

"Right so... wow."

Laughing at his stunned face Rory poked him in the ribs, giggling as he jumped and bumped his knees on the underside of the table.

As her giggles calmed down, Tristan looked at her, surprised still by the knot in his belly he'd get when he was around her. Her hair had fallen loose, framing her face with wind curled hair, her eyes bright and electric, shining with laughter. The rosy cheeks and red nose from the cold suiting her just fine. And the genuine smile that slid over her features.

Surprisingly, his favorite thing was that her face was void of any make-up. Sure, he loved those ocean eyes of hers but the fact she could walk around the school day in and day out, without feeling pressured to change who she was, was his favorite thing about her. That she had the strength, the courage to walk around and be who she was without feeling the need to change, to fit in.

"We should head inside... you're looking a little red in the face." he smiled.

"We?" she questioned.

Sending her a mock glare, he said, "Yes we. We have the same class... do we not?"

Standing up and gathering her things, she walked ahead of him, ignoring his last question.

"Hey, hey. Not so fast Rosy Cheeks, you can't get away from me that easily." he laughed, taking large strides to catch up with her.

**--xX** Detention **Xx--**

She had decided to sit in the back, the farthest from the door, hoping that if Paris happened to walk by, she wouldn't be able to see into the class room and see her. Besides herself and Tristan, there was two other guys in the room but she didn't recognize them. One of them had his head lolled back, trying to balance a pencil on the bridge of his nose. And the second was hunched over his desk, his head in his hands but she swore she could hear a snore from him every few minutes.

Sighing, she adjusted in her seat, stretching her legs out in front of her.

It wasn't bad, she reluctantly admitted to herself. Being in detention. But not something she would make a habit of, knowing any amount of detention looked less than stellar on her permanent record.

Thinking of how one detention would look on her record, made her think of Tristan. How did it look since he had all of those on his? Did that make a school want to re-consider him or would daddy just but his way in? Frowning, Rory went back to concentrating on the work in front of her, trying to push the thoughts out of her mind.

As she paused in her work, she looked up briefly, her eyes landing on Tristan, looking like he was about to fall asleep where he sat, wondering if he was okay since he hasn't talk to her since lunch. With the frowning returning to her lips, she looked back down at the paper, knowing she just had a few more lines and she was done.

Sighing, she stuffed her work into her pack before leaning back in her chair with ten minutes left.

She tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear, before taking her hair down completely. Running her finger through it, acting as a makeshift brush before gathering her hair into her hand and bringing it up and using her hair tie to make a loose pony tail. And just like that, reaction 1 and 2 working there ways on her.

Trying to act like she didn't know he was staring at her, she shifted in her seat, taking her blazer off, figuring it would be fine since she was the only one in the room with it still on. While biting the inside of her cheeks to keep her smile in, reached down, popping the top buttons of her shirt, knowing his eyes would be following her hands. As the blush rose into her cheeks, she let her hands drift lower, into her lap, knowing they were hidden from view at his angle. Lowering her hands, she pretended to scratch her thigh, knowing she had his attention.

Taking a peek, she knew he wouldn't see her staring at him, as he was busy watching something. With a wicked thought, she uncrossed her legs and re-crossed them, bending slightly as trailed her hand over her ankle, adjusting the stockings.

And just like that, it was broken as his eyes snapped up to hers and she suddenly felt breathless as his navy blue eyes locked with hers, swirling with lust.

She kept his gaze, that all too familiar building within, she could feel her stomach tighten and start that burn that would develop until there was only one way to extinguish it. And that thing was...

Faintly, until it brought her out of the heated gaze, she heard Mr. Flanagan clear his throat. With a blush tainting her cheeks, she looked up towards the front of the room. "Detention is over for today and you all are free to go. Hopefully, I won't see you back here tomorrow." Before he went back to grading papers.

Without looking toward the blond again, Rory quickly grabbed her things and made a dash out of the room, not needing to stop by her locker. When she was half way down the hall, she heard another pair of shoes running down the floor behind heard her before she heard Tristan yell out her name.

With a smile, she picked up her pace, knowing she was going to regret running later. It wasn't the number 2 Rule in the Gilmore Handbook for nothing.

Just as she pushed the door open, his hand sank into her shoulder turning her toward him. "Why must you play hard to get?" he huskily murmured.

Ignoring the tingles that were shooting through out her arm, she laughed, looking at him, his eyes bright as the summer sun. "I was just wanted to see what you would be if I ran from you..."

He groaned as a smirk twisted his lips as he leaned down, his lips daringly dance over her ear. "You mean after that little show you put on back there? You're such a tease."

Biting her lips, she looked up at him once he pulled back, the blush on her cheeks not leaving. "You know you like it."

"Never said I didn't." he winked at her, amused by her bashfulness. "Need a ride home?"

"Sure."

As the pair turned toward his car, Rory couldn't help the smile that tugged at her lips. Looking up at Tristan, her stomach did a flip, realizing that he was truly smiling.

Once they were in the safe confines of his car, Tristan leaned over, kissing Rory thorough before pulling back slightly, his hand tracing her cheek.

"Soon."

"What?" he asked, still not opening his eyes.

"We can tell them soon. Okay?"

Sighing, he sat back in his seat, wishing she hadn't said to ruined the mood.

Taking his silence as a bad thing, Rory rambled on. "I just, a little more time, is all I'm asking for."

"How much more time do you need, it's been six months, Rory."

She cringed, it was a sore spot with him. "I just..."

Running a hand through his hair frustrated, he sighed again, hating that he made her upset. "Listen, I understand, Rory, I do. But they are getting suspicions of things. It would so much easier to just came straight out and say it then go to school one day and find out someone has already found out and is making all the rumors to go with it."

Rory nodded, knowing he was right.

Leaning over, he kissed her, letting his tongue ease into her mouth, until they were both wanting more before he pulled back. "Let's get you home."

- -

- -

_4.23.08_

_Original chapter:_ **2,165  
**_Updated/revised chapter:_ **4,620**

**_Kelli_**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: **sadly, I do not own Gilmore Girls

**A/N: **I glad you liked it all so much. Originally, Tristan and Rory were not supposed to be together for a while, it just came out like that.

**Reviews: **Thanks so much all of you!..

_LoVe23, kelz3192, emmy, ktam36, ali, wickedshizit, GGluvr1987, Orange-straw, Fairiefire, Soph, cosmopolitan, riotgirllina, Freegurlstar09, princetongirl, whyshouldicare1, tickle582, JustPeachy123, EC, shirleyytb, troryforever, jenna, GilmoreAtHeart74, Frenchy Girl, Maran-DUH, slytherin-princess-tomboy... thank youguys so much and sorry if I didn't get your name in here..._

After the long wait, the new chapter is finally here!

- - -  
**Fairy Tales  
**- - -

_"Dammit Rory, what are you so afraid of?" Tristan yelled. _

_Tears spilled out of her eyes, looking up at an angry Tristan. _

_He did the one thing he never wanted to do, he made her cry. After seeing her run from the room in tears at Madeline's party, he promised himself he would never make her cry, but he broke that promise. As he looked down at her, he could not help but feel his anger fleeing like a lost puppy. _

_He looked at her, his eyes softening. _

_"I can't help it." She chocked out, more tears spilling from her eyes. _

_He reached out and gently touched her arm, feeling her tense up he dropped his hand, not knowing what to do. _

_She turned to leave but as she was mid way through turning, a hand on her wrist stopped her. "You're not going anywhere till you answer my question," he said, noticing the anger in it. _

_"What if I don't want to answer it?" she snapped, trying to free her hand. _

_"Tough, because I'm not letting go until you tell me what you're afraid of!" He really hated doing this but it had to be done. He wanted answers and he knew this was the only way he was going to get them. _

_Besides being confused, he was angry. They had been on three dates and last night he kissed her, she kissed him back and today at school, she completely ignored him. _

_"I'll scream if you don't let me go!" she warned. _

_"Scream, I really don't care." _

_"3...2...1..." she began to scream. Tristan did the first thing that popped into his mind, he pulled her against him and fused his lips to hers, silencing her screams. _

_Since he still had one of her wrist she did the only thing she could think of, she kneed him hard in his groin. _

_He immediately pulled away from her, grabbing himself with his free hand, trying not to let her hand go. _

_She pulled her wrist out of his grasp and ran towards the doors of the library, not looking back. _

_"Shit." he swore under his breathe, limping after her. Hoping he knew her well, he jogged toward to the bus stop, trying to ignore the pain between his legs. _

_He reached the hall as he spotted the coffee brown haired girl run out of the main entrance of the school. He quickened his pace, ignoring the throbbing pain between his knees. As he reached the stone stairs, she was half way to her bus stop. "Rory!" he yelled, hoping she would stop and turn around, but knowing that was not going to happen, he began running after her. _

_"Dammit Rory, stop!" he yelled out. What surprised him, she did. He slowly and wary walked up to her, stopping five feet away. _

_"And here I thought that when you kneed a guy in his groin that they dropped to the ground in pain." _

_"I wanted too, I'll probably have to set on ice for a week," he said, trying not to hold himself in front of her. "Rory, what the hell is up?" he said, getting back on subject. _

_As much as she complained about her nickname, she thought it sounded weird hearing her name out of his mouth and not Mary. _

_She wiped her bloodshot eyes. "I-I'm scared." she whispered. _

_If he had not seen her mouth move, he would not have known she had said something. He knew she was scared. However, he did not know why. "Why?" _

_She looked down at her shoes, toying with the hem of her shirt, playing with her bottom lip. _

_"Rory, I know you're scared, I know what it's like to be scared. But don't ya'think it would be easier if you just told me, so I can understand or at least try to." His feet were itching to move closer but he knew better and kept his distance. _

_Her head shot up, eyes flaring with anger. "You have no idea what it is like to be scared! Don't give me that card." _

_'Where the hell did this come from?' he thought. "That just shows me how well you know me, excuse me, lack of." he shot back, just as angry now. _

_"What could you possibly be scared of Tristan?" she yelled. _

_He looked right past her, not meeting her eyes. _

_"Well, I'm waiting." she said, tapping her foot on the ground. _

_He ran a hand through his hair, still looking past her. _

_"Yeah, actually like I thought. You don't have a damned thing to be sca-" she was interrupted in the middle of her rant. _

_"You're acting like a real bitch Rory." _

_Tristan's words cut through her like a knife. _

_"You want to know what I'm afraid of?" she nodded her head, tears threatening to fall. "You. I'm scared of you," he said, looking her straight in the eye. _

_"Me?" she whispered. _

_"Yeah, you." he said, bitterly. _

_"Why?" she asked as silent tears rolled down her cheeks. _

_He ran a frustrated hand through his hair. "You really are that oblivious, aren't you? I like you. I truly like you. You are not just some conquest to me, I know you think that but you are not. And it scares me because I've never liked a girl like I like you. It scares the hell out of me, but you don't see me running do you?" _

_A flash of lighting lit up the stormy clouds over head. _

_"You're wrong," she said, wiping the tears from her face. _

_"Excuse me?" he said, not following what she meant. _

_"I don't think I'm one of your conquests...anymore. Last night scared me. When-when you kissed me, I knew, and that's what scared me because...because you're not my safety net." Tears were falling again; she wiped them away in hopes of them stopping. _

_"Your 'safety net'?" he questioned, confused. _

_"You're not Dean," she said in a quiet voice. She watched him as he mouthed an 'o'. "De-Dean was safe for me. I knew him, I knew their was no danger with him and I knew I would always be safe with him. But you...you scare me, what you make me feel, how you make me feel, the way you look at me, the way you can make my knees weak with a simple kiss, the way I get butterflies in my stomach when I hear your name and when I know I'm going to see it...it scares me because Dean never did that to me." She took a deep, calming breath. _

_"He was supposed to do that, he did at first but then it just went away. I never... I- it scares me that you can do that to me and I do not know how to...how to handle it. I was taught how to handle things, but this...I do not know how to handle it. At first, I thought I wanted the stupid feelings to go away but then...I don't know, it just changed." she ended her confession with a heavy sigh. _

_The whole time she spoke, Tristan let down all his shields and looked at her with meaning in his eyes. "Rory, I wish I could tell you that everything is going to be ok but I don't know that. But what I do know is that, I understand everything you just told me. It is scary but if their is one thing I know, you can get through this." he said as he inched closer to her. _

_In a distance, you could hear the thunder rolling but neither cared as they looked into each other's eyes. _

_"Rory, I want to be with you." Tristan said, cupping her cheek with his palm. _

_"Tristan, I want to be with you too." she said as she leaned into his touch. A touch that made her skin tingle. A touch that made her warm. _

_He slowly brought his lips down to hers in the most passionate kiss he had ever given. "Rory Gilmore, will you be my girlfriend?" he asked as he rested his forehead against hers. _

_"Yes." _

_He never knew a three-letter word would make him the happiest person alive...until now. _

"Mare?" Tristan called.

"Huh? Wha?" Rory said, shaking her head clear.

"What were you thinking about? You seemed really spaced out."

"Oh, I was thinking about the book I'm currently reading." She lied.

"Really?" he asked in a disbelieving tone.

"Yep."

"Don't ever play poker; you suck at lying/bluffing."

"Ha."

"So, what were you really thinking about?" he asked again.

"The day you asked me to be your girlfriend." she whispered.

"That was a good day...," he said, with his famous smirk.

"Yeah?" she asked.

"Yeah. I got the girl of my dreams," he said, reaching for her hand.

"I'm glad it didn't start raining till we were back in school. That would have been horrible."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I don't think we could have gone to class in soaking wet clothes." She said, resting her head against the window of his car.

"Tell me something Mare, how often do you think of that day?" he asked, looking at her.

"Tristan! Look at the road! Not me!" she yelled.

"Fine, but answer...please?" he stuck out his bottom lip for effect.

"Not often." She answered truthfully.

"Mmm..."

"I guess I don't like to think about it because, I such a...hag that day. I was mean and Paris like...Oh god! I was like Paris. How did that happen? Tristan, wh-" the rest of her rant was cut off due to a sudden boast in the volume of the music.

_Cause each of her kisses  
How my heart misses  
She's coming  
She's coming here to me  
I'm needing  
Desiring to kiss her now  
I'm living for her  
Breathing for her  
Singing for her fairytale _

Rory reached over and turned down the volume. "That was mean," she said, pouting in her seat.

Tristan glanced down at her, smirking. "Sorry, but I wasn't in the mood for one of your rants. However, you can continue after school."

"Meanie. You're a big meanie, you know that, right?" Rory asked in a pouting-five-year-old-voice.

"I do now, thanks for informing me babe."

"Uh, don't call me 'babe', it reminds me of the pig," she said as she set up straight in the seat.

"But you can eat like a pig."

"But I'm not a four legged animal and, I don't roll around in the mud."

Preparing for his death he said, "No you're right, you're only an animal in bed." The car came to a halt at a red light.

"Fuck." Tristan muttered, pulling the recline lever beside his seat, he pushed it all the way back and let the chair fall all the way back. "Throwing notebooks at your boyfriend, that's not nice Mary," he said, lifting the lever and setting the seat in it's originally position. He picked up the notebook that was lying in his lap and passed it back to her.

"Ha! You deserved it for saying that!"

"What? I was just speaking the truth," he said, smirking.

"What ever, this is my stop."

As always, he dropped her off a block away from the school, with a quick kiss, he drove off, letting Rory to walk the rest of the way.

She had talked to her mom last night about her and Tristan's situation. As expected, her mother agreed with Tristan. It was not the fact that she did not want to be public about their relationship it was just that she was afraid of the rumors and how they would be the talk of the school.

The thought that really scared her, she would officially be the Queen of Chilton. Every time that thought crossed her mind, she got chills up her spine. She told Tristan that she was worried about that; he said not to worry that he would not let anything happen to her. She believed he would but she always asked the same thing each time he said that, _"For how long?" _

She looked around her surroundings as her mothers word swirled around her mind, _"Go with your gut feeling sweetie, I wish I could say more but, go with that gut feeling, if not that then listen to your heart." _That sentence was burned into her mind.

She drug her feet slowly, trying to make her decision. For once, she did not care if she was late, this was more important, she could tell Tristan was getting irked about having to hide their relationship all the time and frankly, she could not blame him. She inwardly moaned as 'hell' came into view. She looked down at her watch; she still had five more minutes.

Knowing her bus came by about ten -fifteen- minutes ago, she sat down on the bench. She leaned over and covered her face with her hands.

_Come on  
Without you I'll never feel the love inside of me  
Come on, you know that we belong  
Come on, come on, come on, come on _

Without looking up, she knew it was Tristan's car that just pulled into the parking lot. She knew if she looked up, she would see girls hanging all over him, even if they knew he had a girlfriend they would still do that.

Bringing her head out of her hands, she stood up and turned around. He was staring at her, he look concerned. She smiled softly then noticed Summer trying to push her body into his...right then and there she knew what her decision was.

- -

- -

I'm sooo sooo sorry I did not get this out sooner! It was suppose to be out a few weeks ago but...I started feeling bad then I was not on for like a week and when I was almost done...I thought of another way to start this chapter off and deleted the whole thing and started it again.

I'm not thrilled with the TRORY action in the chapter but...oh well, it was the only thing I could think of.

I also wanted to show you how they got together...not in the best way but I really liked that part.

I also have a new blog for information on updates and sorts...you can get the link off my profile... that's all...thanks so much!

Don't forget to review

_**Kelli**_


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: **sadly, I do not own Gilmore Girls

**A/N: **I'm really glad you guys like this so much! I hope this chapter doesn't let you down!

**Reviews: **Thank you guys so much! You have no idea how much it means to me...even if I get one it brightens my day! Keep 'em coming!

- - -  
**Fairy Tales  
**- - -

"Ya know, my parents are going to be out of town this weekend and I'll be all alone, I was thinking about throwing a party but maybe you'd like to come over instead-" She said seductively while trailing her finger along his chest. "And we can have a party of our own, like we used too."

Tristan scoffed, shoving her hand away. "Did you miss the part where _you_ broke up with me...eight months ago?"

She tilted her head to the side. "I made a mistake to ever get rid of you. I should have never done it."

He laughed. "Is that how you feel?" he leaned down and brought his lips to her ear. "It's the best thing that ever happened to me." He whispered before he stood up straight and looked at the shocked expression that came across her face.

"You don't really mean that." She stated.

He let out a laugh. "Honey, it's the best thing that ever happened to me." He looked up and saw Rory. "Well, one of the best things to ever happen to me." He said, his eyes never leaving Rory.

Summer saw him staring at something and turned around; she let out a soft but jealous laugh. "Face Tris, you'll never get her."

He looked down at her and cocked an eyebrow. With his smirk firmly in place, he said, "Oh really?" He looked back up at Rory, who was now standing by a near-by tree. He could see she was deep in thought about something.

"You know why you'll never get her? Because you're just a-"

Tristan did not hear the rest of her comment as he started to walk off. He was not sure where to go, inside and be followed be Summer and her posse or go to his girlfriend and have her be mad at him? Without thinking it through, he made his decision.

He felt her eyes on him, her eyes were following him, but now, he did not care. She could stare at him, beg him, insult him until hell froze over for all her cared, because he didn't.

"Hey," he said, coming to stop in front of the love if his life.

"Hi." She replied.

"So, what are you doing all the way over here?" he asked, shoving his hands into the pockets of his pants.

"Nothing." She said, looking down at the ground.

"Hey, what's wrong?" he asked, lifting her chin with two fingers.

"You know I love you, right?"

"Rory, you're starting to scare me."

"Yeah, but I'm also making to miserable." She replied.

He was taken aback. He ran hand through his hair, wondering where all this came from.

"Where is all this coming from Ror? I'm not miserable with you." He tired reassuring her but knowing Rory he knew this was not going to be easy.

"I don't know." She said, sliding down the tree until she was in a sitting position.

"You don't know what?"

"Where any of this is coming from."

"Ah." He kneed down in front of her, hoping he figured out what was going on. He reached out and grabbed her hand that was fidgeting with the hem of her skirt and intertwined their fingers. "Rory, if you're not comfortable with letting all these pricks know we're boyfriend-girlfriend, I'm fine with that. You know I would never do anything you're not comfortable with." He said gently.

"What's the point? Even if they knew," she nodded her head toward Summer and her group, who were watching intently. "they would still try and get you. They would try harder since they know you have girlfriend. And I don't know if I could stomach watching it all the time. I know you want nothing to do with them but still…," she said while silent tears rolled down her cheeks.

Completely forgetting that they were at school, Tristan reached forward with his free hand and wiped away her tears.

Unknown to the two teens that a small group had formed and was watching their every move.

"Ror, we have most of our classes together. Besides Math, science and pop coulter, we have all our classed together, that doesn't let them have enough time to pursue Me." he sighed. "I know they would try harder to –as you say- get me. But in the end, it would be worth it, I don't like having to hide our relationship. Hiding is something you do when you are ashamed of something and that is something I'm not! I know that the guys are going to think I only got with you so I could…ya know, but we both know better so who cares what they think." He said while running the pads of his thumb over her cheek, wiping her tears away.

She took a deep breath, trying to calm her nerves. "Are you sure?"

He chuckled softly. "Yes, I'm sure. The question is, are you sure? No pressure."

She brought her hand that was resting on her knee up and twirled a lock of hair around her fingers.

Tristan smiled softly, knowing she did this when she was nerves about a decision she had to make. She looked up into his eyes and smiled softly. "Yes."

"Yes what?" he asked, knowing what she meant but wanted to hear her say it.

She ignored his question. She brought her hands up and wrapped it around his neck, gently pulling him forward. She gently brushed her lips against his. "Yes, I'm sure."

- - -

"Have you heard yet?" she said out of breath, from running through the hall.

"Heard what?" she asked, looking at the girl standing in front of her.

"Oh my god! How could you not hear? It's all around school, everybody's talking about it!"

"Well, I would know what the hell you're talking about if you just shut the hell up about I haven't heard it and just tell me!" she snapped.

"Somebody's in a bad mood. Oh well, Rory Gilmore and Tristan DuGrey are an item." She said, slightly jumping up and down from the excitement.

She was dumbfounded. Rory and Tristan? Together? "What?" she asked, making sure she heard right.

"That's right. I was just as shocked when I found out but, it's true. Apparently, they've been together for quite some time, which would explain why he hasn't been nailing any of his groupies."

"You're not just telling me to get some sick twisted pleasure out of this, are you?" Paris asked, slamming her locker shut.

"Nope. Summer saw the whole thing and she is fuming. I've never seen her so mad, upset or jealous. Ha, serves that bitch for stealing Jeremy Mayors from me." Louise said with glee.

Paris rolled her eyes. "Yeah, whatever." She said as she huffed passed her and into her next class.

"Well, someone's not to happy…" Louise stated before rushing off to tell more people about the 'it' couple.

- - -

"Why won't they stop staring?" Rory whispered.

"Well, they just found out that the King of Chilton and Rory-bookworm-Tristan's-next-conquest-Gilmore has been hiding their relationship for six months. What did you expect them to do?" Tristan asked while he soothingly rubbed Rory's back.

"I didn't expect this! Everywhere I go I get icy glares from females, Paris is the worse; she hasn't said a word to me all day, not even about the paper. I feel like a nun that was caught kissing an ex-con." She said, burrowing her face in her hands.

Tristan chuckled lightly. "You're getting the icy glares because you took the most wanted guy in school off the market. Paris not talk to you, I would think you'd enjoy the peace. You are a nun and I am an ex-con, Mary," he said, smirking.

"Oh and how so?" she asked, rising her hand out of her hands.

"Well, you didn't really _do _anything with bean stalking. So, that left you as a 'nun' or as I call you 'Mary'. Some people consider dating a new female every week a crime, so since we got together that left me a one-woman-man, which would give off as an ex-con."

She ran a hand over her face before rested her head against the cool surface of the table.

"It'll get better, I promise."

She let out a muffled groan. She knew coming out about their relationship was going to be hard she just didn't know it was going to be _this _hard. She loved Tristan, she truly loved him. So she weighed the options: continue hiding their relationship and have him slowly but surely grow unhappy. Because she was too scared of what people thought of her.

Or she could let the whole school know and let the both of them become the talk of the school but Tristan would be happier because as he said earlier, _hiding is something you do when you are ashamed of something. _She never thought of it like that, but that comment is what made her one-hundred percent sure.

She was already sure she was going to do it, but hearing those words made it clearer. At the moment she was not sure if she made the right decision but Rory being Rory, thought about the future. In five year – hell not even five, but in college she knew she would be sure letting all of Chilton know was the right decision.

It was just going to take some time for her to get used to all the attention. She knew Tristan did not like all the attention he got but he got used to it because, he had a very elite family in Hartford, therefore, people were always watching his every move. She did not know how he did but after today, she gained a new respect for him.

"Ror, you ok? You've been kind of quite." Tristan said worried.

"Yeah, I was just thinking. Sorry, I didn't mean to worry you." She said, turning in her chair slightly to get a better look at him.

"It's ok, it's just the only you're really quite like this is when you're upset." He said while cupping his cheek in his palm. He brought his lips to her ear and whispered, "I'd kiss you, but we have a fan club behind the book case." He placed a lingering kiss right below her ear before pulling away.

Rory turned around in her chair slightly. She let out a loud, frustrated groan at seeing a group of females file behind a book case, trying to get a better look.

She opened her mouth to say something but as soon as she did the bell over head singled the end of lunch. She let out another groan.

Tristan swiftly stood up from his chair in the library, waiting for Rory but seeing as she hadn't moved he spoke, "That's the first time I've seen you _not_ jump up at the sound of the bell." Tristan mused.

Rory glared up at him. "This is all funny to you, isn't it?"

He smirked at her. "Maybe." He answered with a shrug. "C'mon, the sooner you get the class the sooner we can get out of this hell hole." He said, reaching for her hand.

"Hmm. You're right, the sooner we get there the sooner we leave." She packed away the books she didn't use. "What the hell do I look like? I'm not five; I know how to get out of a chair on my own." She snapped.

He looked at her for a moment before he busted out laughing.

"I don't see anything funny here." She said, slinging her backpack over her shoulders.

Tristan shook his head, his laugh turned into a low chuckle. "You're funny. I've never seen you wound _this _tight before."

Rory glared at him before her eyes soften. "Sorry, I guess it's all the attention I'm getting. I didn't mean to take it out on you."

"Relax, I didn't take offense, I found it funny."

"Yeah, I could tell. Let's get to class." She said as the warning bell rang.

- - -

"Rory, darling, how was school?" Lorelai asked in an English accent as her daughter walked through the door.

Her answer was a grunt and something that sounded like a 'hell'.

"You. Stop. Explain." She said, pointing at Tristan, who just walked through the door.

He ran a hand through his hair. "She let them know."

"OH! That's great?"

"Hmp, speak for yourself." Rory yelled from the kitchen.

Lorelai and Tristan walked into the kitchen and found Rory sitting at the table, waiting for a fresh pot of coffee.

"That bad huh?" Lorelai asked, taking a seat next to her daughter.

"Paris won't talk to me."

"Babe, that's a good thing." Lorelai interjected.

"That's what I said."

"Anyway, as I was saying," Rory continued. "The only non-ice-glares were from the school lesbian and the guys but they were just as bad, they kept smirking at me all day and shaking their fat little heads, stupid pricks." She stood up at the beep from the coffee machine.

"Well, what did you expect? You took the Brad-Pitt-look-alike-player off the market."

"I don't know." Rory groaned, hitting her head against the table, as she sat down with a fresh cup of coffee.

"Hun, trust me, it will get better. You may be the talk of the school at the moment but as soon as someone throws a party, someone is bound to do something stupid and then they'll be the talk of the school." Lorelai reassured her.

"You think?"

"Yeah, once, when I was in school I went to the bathroom and when I came out I found out I had toilet paper stuck to the back of my skirt. It was all the school was talking about. Then the coolest cat in school was throwing a party while his parents were out of town and every got really smashed. So, the school geek is there and she gets drunk and then she and Eddie (the coolest cat in school, who threw the party) disappeared." She was waving her hands in the air as she continued the story.

"Not that anybody noticed the geek was missing but they went in search of Ed. So when they get to the bedrooms guess who they see walking out? Eddie and the geek. My little paper spill was forgotten in a flash."

"Ya really think they will stop talking?" Rory asked with a hopeful gleam in her eyes.

Lorelai laid her hands over Rory's. "Yeah, I do. But, since I did not pull a scam over the school, their going to be talking for a while." Rory let out another groan. "If you have any trouble with those kids just tell mommy and I'll murder 'em. Me and Tristan will team and go berserk on everyone, won't we Tris?" she asked, nudging him with her elbow.

"Damn straight." Tristan said. "They mess with you; they mess with Lore and me."

Rory couldn't help but laugh at her boyfriend and her mother. She was surprised at how well they have gotten along.

"I guess it could be worse." Rory said, getting up and refilling her coffee mug.

"That' a girl." Lorelai said, standing up. "Now, you two behave, I have to get to the Inn. Sookie's freaking out over the dinner plan." Rory was about to say something but she cut her off, "Don't ask, I'll tell you later. Love you." With that, she left.

"All better?" Tristan asked, standing up.

Rory leaned back against the counter, coffee in hand. "I'm just not used to all the attention."

Tristan reached out and gently took the coffee mug from her hands. He wrapped his arms around her and brought her head to his chest. "I know you're not. It will be ok. Like you're mom said, someone will throw a party and someone will do something, then they'll forget about us." He said while stroking her hair.

"I hope so," she mumbled against his chest.

"C'mon, let's go watch a movie." He said, while taking her hand and pulling her into the living room.

- -

- -

_Surprisingly, I loved writing Tristan and Summer. Anyway, hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. _

_I have a blog you can check out, for a longer A/N. It's fairy girl03 .blog spot .com (take all the spaces out)_

_Don't forget to review!_

_**Kelli**_


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: **sadly, I do not own Gilmore Girls

**Reviews: **Wow, thank you guys so much…I'm glad you liked the last chapter…hopefully this one won't bore you to tears.

**Trory's Relationship: **I've had a few people PM me and ask me questions about their relationship...so I figured I would do it this way incase anyone else was having problems. Everything starting at 'The Third Lorelai' happened. The kiss at Madeline's party, Rory trying to set Paris and Tristan up. Rory and Tristan become friends after the kiss. Two months after Madeline's party, Tristan asked Rory out. They've been together for six months. Anything else I can clear up?

**A/N: **Sorry I didn't get this up sooner. This is the longest chapter yet. This is just mostly a filler but I did my best, so I hope I don't let you guys down!

**Quick Note: **if some of the spelling and grammar is off it's because I'm tired and it's 3 something. If you see some, let me know and I'll take care of it!

- - -  
**Fairy Tales  
**- - -

Even though they had been going out for half the year, she was still wary of him. She knew he had the reputation of a player for a reason. Even though she was not sure if she could trust him completely she knew every time he looked at _her, _his eyes lit up. They became clear, and you could see the loved he possessed for her daughter in them.

She did not dislike him; she was just worried about him. He knew Lorelai did not like him and he did not try to push it. He did not suck up to her the way Dean did. Although he never said it, Lorelai was sure he did not care if she liked him or not.

Dean was kind and gentle; he would not have pushed Rory into anything she did not want to do. He was safe, tame, no threat. Since she grew up in a different world then Rory did, Lorelai was confused about weather you are suppose to like your daughters' boyfriends or not.

She would never admit it aloud but she held a secret hope that Dean and Rory would get back together. She knew it was wrong to, but she could not help it.

Rory kept telling her he never pressured her into doing something she was not comfortable doing. Part of her wanted to believe her; the other part would not allow her to completely trust this boy. She flat did not trust him with her daughter. She tired to trust his, tired to like him. But in the end, it always came back to one thing – he wasn't Dean.

It was not the fact that she did not like him, she just knew his type. The player turned into a one-woman-man by a girl. Their happy until someone new and interesting comes along and she will have to hold her daughter as she cries, trying to figure out what she did wrong. When the fact is, she did nothing wrong, she was/is last week news. She was just waiting for that to happen, expecting it to happen. Nonetheless, she saw the love and happiness he held when he looked at Rory, and that puzzled her to no end.

If she really knew his 'type' then why did she see those looks, he gave her daughter. She has known/seen his type many times before, but they have never given the looks that he sends toward Rory. Did he really care deeply for her, she would ask herself repeatedly and each time she did, that small voice in the back of her mind would always answer…Yes. However, she never allowed herself to believe that voice.

Lorelai shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts as she walked into the Independent's Inn kitchen. She sighed as she took a seat at the counter. "Sookie, do you think there is something wrong with me for wanting Rory and Dean to get back together?" she asked while nibbling on a sugar cookie.

Sookie sighed and stopped mixing the colors for the cake she was decorating. Lately, she and Lorelai were having more talks about Rory and Tristan more than anything else. She took in Lorelai's slumped poster as she sat at the counter, nibbling on a sugar cookie. She noticed the growing bags under her friends' eyes. Her make-up was poorly applied, her clothes were wrinkled and her hair was dull and boring instead of shiny and full of life. Her eyes were blank and filled with pain. "Well, maybe. Yeah." She replied while resting her chin in her palm as she leaned over the counter.

Lorelai looked up and noticed the I-want-to-say-more-but-I-won't look. She let out a moan that sounded like a puppy. "I'm a horrible mother!" she exclaimed before banging her head on the counter.

"Stop Lore. You're not a horrible mother; you're just concerned about Rory's boyfriend." She tried reassuring her.

"Yeah, but I also hold a small hope that Dean and Rory will get back together." Lorelai snorted.

"Now that could get you the horrible mother award." Sookie said shocked.

"I know." Lorelai moaned.

"Lorelai, I've met him, he's not bad. Why don't you like him so much?"

"Because…" she paused, not wanting to lie to Sookie. Or herself anymore. "He's going to take Rory from me." She whispered.

- - -

"I got to go...," she mumbled against his lips.

"5 more minutes..." he said, making his way from her lips to her neck.

"That's what you said _ten _minutes ago." Rory said, moving her neck to give him better access.

He gently bit down on the spot he had been sucking on. A soft moan escaped her lips.

"Tristan..." she said, trying to ignore the feel of his tongue making slow circles on her neck.

"Hmm..." was his only response as he moved down to her collarbone, trailing his tongue across it.

"I really. Have to. Go." She said slowly, losing herself in the feeling he was invoking in her. She knew she had go but really didn't want to. She let out a small gasp as he scrapped his teeth across her collarbone. He let out a small laugh before making his way back up to her neck, _slowly._

As he brought his lips back to hers, she gladly kissed him back. "Thought you had to go?" he asked, his lips hovering over hers.

"I do, but that doesn't mean I can't spare five more minutes," she said before arching up to kiss him.

"Oh, what have I done to you Mary?" he mumbled.

"Nothing you don't enjoy." She said smiling as she returned her lips to his. She ran her fingers through his tousled locks as Tristan's hands roamed her body. Her hands moved over his back before she fisted his shirt in her hands before un-tucking it. She moaned as his hands made there way to the inside of her thighs.

She brought her hands op to his chest, finally pushing him away. He rolled off the couch and fell onto the floor, looking up at Rory confused. "I didn't enjoy that just now. But then again, you probably got it from your mom." He said, leaning back onto his hands.

Rory franticly searched around for her ringing cell phone. Locating it in her backpack, she pulled it out. "Hello?" she answered out of breath.

"Ooh you're out of breath. Did I just interrupt something?"

"No, we were just studying." Rory replied, wiping her mouth.

"Yeah, studying each others tonsils. Dear child of mine, ask Tristan if you need to see the dentist."

"Mom!" Rory hissed.

"What?" she asked innocently.

"Since you called, I'm assuming there's a reason here."

"Oh yeah. I'm afraid I can't make it home or also known as Luke's for dinner."

"Why not?" She asked, setting back against the couch.

"Michel brought chin-chin to the Inn and then lost him."

"Ok, not seeing the point here."

"He found him when a guest returned to his room after his walk around town."

"And..."

"It seems chin-chin left his markings in his bed."

"Eww! That's gross! Wait, why was chin-chin even there to begin with?"

"Because pow-pow is 'feeling a little crowded'. That's a direct quote from my French friend."

"Alright, I'll see you when you get home."

"Go back to sucking face with Tristan."

"Bye mom!" Rory said before snapping her phone shut.

"That was an interesting conversation." Tristan said from the ground.

"Yeah. Why you sitting on the floor?"

"You mean you don't remember? From the look on your face, I'd say no." Tristan stood, brushed his pants off, and walked over to Rory and whispered in her ear. While he was explaining Rory's cheeks grew a deep crimson red.

"So, since studying didn't go as planned today, what do you say to tomorrow, your house?" he asked with a smirk.

If possible, her cheeks grew even redder.

"Sorry, I didn't mean it that way." Just by looking at his smirk, you could tell he did mean it that way.

"Right, so. You got to go?" he asked, picking her bag up off the floor.

Rory, still not speaking, nodded mutely.

"Why are you still embarrassed Rory? It's not like we haven't had sex before." Tristan asked as he helped Rory up and off the couch.

Rory hesitated a little before answering. "I don't know. Maybe it's because my mom wanted to shield it from me because she didn't want me to get pregnant like she did. But I really don't know." She looked up and saw he was watching her intently.

"Hmm," he mumbled as he wrapped an arm around her waist. "The whole innocent thing you have going on, I _thought_ it might wear off. But you still have it and it's _still _a turn on." He whispered in her ear.

Rory shivered as his warm breath tickled her ear. She sucked in her breath as he took her lobe in his mouth. "I have to go." She said in a whiney voice.

Tristan gripped her hips in his hands as she let out a moan. "But you don't want to." He whispered as his hands traveled to her bottom before cupping it and lifting her off the ground. He groaned as Rory tightly wrapped her legs around him. "And I don't want you to go." He said as his lips met her pulse point. "And your moms not going to be home for a while, right?" he asked as he pushed her back up against a wall.

"Right." She confirmed. Rory lightly scratched the back of his neck as he continued to work magic on her neck. He bit down on the side of her neck, noting gentle about it. He groaned as Rory moaned his name. His tongue darted out to taste the skin between her neck and jaw line. He rubbed it softly against her skin, knowing he was making her crazy.

"Tristan," she sighed as he started to unbutton her shirt. He smirked against her skin as he felt her unbuckle his belt. His lips met hers and she gladly let him deepen it. She eagerly sucked on whichever lip caught between hers. He pushed her harder into the wall when he felt his belt pulled from the loops of his slacks. Rory could feel her skirt pooling around her hips as Tristan pushed harder against her. She groaned as Tristan pulled away from her lips. She opened her eyes and saw him staring at her with dark eyes.

"Why'd you-" she was cut off as his lips crashed to hers, in a slow intimate kiss. He pulled back and rested his forehead against hers. "Hi" he whispered softly, still out of breathe.

"Hi." She replied, playing with the hair on the back of his neck. "Why'd you stop?" she asked a little confused.

He closed his eyes and eased his grip on her. He lowered his head and gentle took her lips with his. He slowly slid his tongue over her lips, tracing them. "Because," he said while nipping at her lips. "I need to get you home and since we're in the living room…_anyone _could walk in on us. I don't really care but you do and I wouldn't do that to you." He said as he slowly lowered her to the ground.

Rory nodded her head, understanding. She was about to walk away when Tristan placed his hand on the wall behind her, blocking her way. "I thought you…" she trailed off, confused.

"I do but you need to be more…appropriate." He said while looking down at her chest, licking his lips.

Rory looked up at him confused before looking down, blushing, realizing her shirt was unbuttoned. She hastily buttoned her shirt back up, blushing furiously. "Get your stuff gathered up. I'm gonna go change out this damn uniform." Tristan said before turning and walked up the grand staircase.

Rory subconsciously fixed her hair before walked over the mirror in the corner of the room. She let out a groan at her disarray state. She flattens out her skirt before working all the kinks out of her shirt. She walked over to her backpack, pulled out her mini hairbrush, and ran it through her hair before putting it in a ponytail. As she put the brush back, she pulled out her Chap Stick, hoping it make her lips less red and swollen.

She pulled her un-used books off the coffee table and put them back in her backpack. "Rory, darling, I didn't know you were here." Rory tensed at the sound of Elizabeth Dugrey's voice. Elizabeth had the same dazzling blue eyes as Tristan. She had shoulder length layered red hair. A few freckles across her nose, she also had Tristan's strong, defined jaw line. She was at least two inches taller then Rory.

After zipping her bag up Rory looked up and was surprised. Normally Elizabeth was in fancy dresses but today, she was in a business suit. "Yeah, me and Tristan stopped by to work on our project for school." Rory smiled sweetly at her, glad she took Tristan's advice and made herself more appropriate.

"I remember Tristan saying something about that the other night. How is that going?" She asked as she sat in a chair across from where Rory was currently sitting.

Rory reached up and rubbed the back of her neck. "Uh, we're having a little probably getting research for it. But we have two weeks to get it done."

Elizabeth smiled at Rory. "You guys will get it done, after all, you two are in the top of your classes. Enough talk about school, would you like to stay for dinner?"

"She can't" Tristan answered for Rory as he entered the room. "She has to get home and she's already late. We were caught up with our… schoolwork and lost track of time. Her mother has already called to make sure she was ok." He lied smoothly while winking at Rory.

The wink Tristan sent Rory was noticed by Elizabeth but decided not to comment on it. "Oh my, I'm sorry; I didn't know you had to go. I won't hold you up any longer. Oh and Rory, don't be a stranger, I like having you around here."

Rory was a little shocked by Elizabeth's comment. "I-it's ok…you didn't know." She waited a beat. "Oh um, I'll try to come by more often."

"Well, now that we got that out of the way, you two scat. Shira demanded to have an emergency meeting for this months D.A.R. event. I'm sure you two don't want to be around a bunch of old ladies arguing over nonsense."

"You're right mom; we don't won't to be here." He replied with a smirk.

"Oh Tristan, you joker you, you take Rory along or I'll make you two attend the event." She replied in a serious voice.

"Consider us gone." Tristan walked over to his mom and kissed her on the cheek. "Now, where's milady?" Tristan said as he held his arm out.

Rory scooted off the couch and picked her backpack up off the ground. She walked over the Tristan and looped her arm through his. The couple turned and made their way toward the foyer. "It was good to see you again Mrs. Dugrey." Rory called over her shoulder. She heard Elizabeth sigh behind her and stopped walking.

"How many times to I have to tell you to call me Elizabeth, Rory?" she asked with a smirk playing on her lips.

"Sorry." Rory mumbled, her cheeks turning red.

"It's quiet alright; just don't let it happen again." She said with a smile.

"I won't, I promise." With that said, Rory and Tristan turned back around and headed out the large oak doors.

Elizabeth watched the teens leave and smiled to herself. Rory was one of the best things to happen to her son. He was happy, which in return, made her happy. She did not have to watch her son run through female after female anymore. She could see the love he had for Rory in his eyes. That made her even happier, that he found someone he could love and loved him in return. She could see how Tristan let his guard down for her, and only her.

She knew Rory thought she did not like her but the truth was, she adored that girl. She knew Rory had no idea how much she saved Tristan. If it was not for Rory, Tristan would still be the same cold-hearted boy he was a year ago but now, he had someone who cared for him and showed him what it was like to have someone to love and care for. Rory would never know of the gratitude she has for her for saving her son from himself.

She was respectful, not like the society girls that would put on a façade in front of all the adults. She was truly respectful. She remembered the first time she met Rory. She joked around about Tristan's player status and was surprised when they became a couple, Rory did not back down, she expressed her worries that she had about them but put it behind her and gave Tristan a chance, though Rory never spoke a word of it, she knew. She did not change herself for Tristan; she refused to be another one of his conquest. Though it put Tristan through hell, she was grateful she did it because if she didn't, Tristan wouldn't have Rory and for that, she loved Rory.

- - -

The two teens were setting on the couch, where they have been since they returned to Stars Hollow. They were watching the T.V. on mute, just enjoying each other's company. Tristan sat on the end of the couch, while Rory was curled up on his side.

"No." Rory whined. "You can't leave me here in this scary house all alone."

"Ror, its six-forty-five. I've been here since 5. Your mom will be home soon and you won't be alone in this 'scary' house."

"Hey, don't mock me. This place is scary when you are all alone, in the dark." She pouted. She sat up and moved onto her own cushion on the couch.

"Well, we can change that." Tristan said with a smirk. He reached over, grabbed by her hands, and pulled her into his lap. When she tired to wiggle out of his lap, he placed his hands firmly on her hips. "Nu-uh, you're not going anywhere." He reached up and placed a hand behind her neck, bringing her down for a heated kiss. "Well," Rory stated when breathe was needed. "I like doing that and all but if my mom walks in on us doing that, she will cause hell."

"Again."

"Yeah, again." Rory said as she slipped out of his lap. "So, how 'bout we watch a movie?" she asked as she snuggled against his side.

"You call Joe's and I'll pick the movie?" Tristan asked as he stood up from the couch.

"Hey, why do you get to pick the movie? How come I can't pick it?" Rory asked as she watches Tristan crouch down in front of the movie stack.

Tristan smirked at her over his shoulder. "Because Mary, I don't feel like watching Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory."

"What?" she asked innocently. "It's a classic." After getting no response from her boyfriend, she sighed as stood up to look for the phone.

After Rory searched the living room for five minutes, she finally walked over to the phone cradle and pushed the page button. She listened for a second before she heard the faint beeping coming from upstairs. She let out a grumble before walking up the stairs.

Tristan smiled at his girlfriends retreating as he fell back on the couch. He picked up the DVD controller and pressed pause as the opening credits started. He propped his feet on the coffee table and closed his eyes. He did not get much sleep last night and school today was hell for him and Rory. More for Rory then anything. Endless string of girls trying to throw themselves at him – even with Rory on his arm. Every time he told them, 'no' they would shoot daggers at Rory as if she called them a vulgar name. She was shot glares and looked at like a piece of filth. Nonetheless, Rory stuck by him, not letting it bother her.

He was proud of her but he knew if it kept going at this rate, she would brake soon. He heard her come down the stairs but still kept his eyes closed. He let out a groan when she straddled his thighs.

He slowly opened his eyes and was met with the worried face of Rory Gilmore. "Are you ok Tris?" she asked as she cupped the side of his face in her hand.

He leaned into her touch and placed his hand over hers before closing his eyes again. Even with his eyes closed, he could tell she was watching him intently. He let out a deep breathe and opened his eyes. The corners of his mouth lifted upwards as she ran the pads of her thumb over his cheek, something she knew he loved. "Yeah," he said in a whisper. "I'm fine, I'm just tired."

"Ok." She whispered back. She leaned forward and kissed the corner of his mouth before kissing his lips. "The pizza should be here in twenty minutes." She whispered when she pulled back. "So, what are we watching?" she asked as she walked into the kitchen.

She came back with two coffee mugs in hand and was surprised to see that Tristan laid out of the couch, sleeping. She set the two coffee mugs on the coffee table and quietly walked over to the linen closet. As she opened the door it made a creek sound, praying Tristan did not hear it, she searched the closet for Tristan's favorite blanket for when he slept over. Finally finding it on the bottom of the floor, she closed the door and walked over to her sleeping boyfriend. She gently placed it over him before she pushed the hair away from his forehead. She placed a light kiss on his lips, "Night Tristan."

She turned off the T.V. then grabbed the mugs and returned to the kitchen. She walked into her room and grabbed her backpack before she returned to the kitchen table so she could finish her homework.

- -

- -

Hopefully, I didn't bore you to tears with this chapter. This was just something I had to get out of the way. Some of you my not like that I made Lorelai distrusting of Tristan but, if she didn't like Jess, why the hell would she like Tristan?

If anyone was wondering...No, Logan will not be a factor in this story...I just used Shira because she was the first person that popped into my mind. And no, Dean will not be a factor either, he'll be like a book and pop up but he won't be a big deal.

Hope you liked... don't forget to review

_**Kelli**_


	5. Authors Note

Was an A/N.

On to the next chapter!


	6. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: **sadly, I do not own the Gilmore Girls

**A/N:** I'm so sorry this has taken me a looooong time to post. I've had family and personal issues I had to get through before I could write again. Plus there's always the computer that messes up from time to time. But, I've had this wrote three different times and deleted it 'em 'cause they weren't good. But here this one is, hope you guys like it!

**Dedication:** To my best friend, Rach. For helping me all through this. You're the best!

On with the story!

- - -  
**Fairy Tales  
**- - -

Rory grabbed her stomach and rolled out of bed, almost losing her footing and falling on her face. She hurriedly ran over to her door and threw it open, running to the bathroom. She dropped to the bathroom floor just in time for her stomach to empty its contents. She groaned as she reached up and pushed the handle down. She stood up only to drop back to the ground as that familiar feeling entered her stomach again. As she leaned over the toilet she held her side with one hand as the other held up her hair.

As she emptied the rest of her stomach she felt someone rubbing her back soothingly. She would have smiled and said 'thank you' if she wasn't throwing up. She waited a minute after the last heave before she reached up again and pressed the handle down. She turned slightly and rested her back against the back of the bathtub. She pulled her knees up to her chest and rested her forehead against them, feeling nauseous again. She heard Tristan get up and quietly shut the door. She briefly wondered where he went before she was leaning over the toilet again.

Closing her eyes, she leaned back against the tub after this round of 'how many times I can throw up in an hour'. She saw Tristan re-enter through her half lidded eyes. She caught a small glimpse of something in his hand but could not comprehend what it was at the moment. She jerked forward as her stomach churned again. She felt as Tristan held her hair back for her and slowly rubbed her back.

Ten minutes after the last flush, she stood up on shaky legs and turned towards the sink. Tristan kissed her temple before he left to let her clean up. She found a pair of her night pants strewn across sink. She had taken them off before she went to bed. She smiled at the simple gesture.

She slipped her legs through the pants before turning on the faucet and splashing her face with cold water. As she patted her face dry she noticed how pale she looked. She looked at her hair, making sure there was no vomit in it. She pulled her hair back in a messy bun before she brushed her teeth, wanting to get the disgusting taste out of her mouth. After she finished brushing her teeth she got on her knees, cleaning up the mess she'd made. After she made sure she got it all, she walked out of the bathroom for the first time in over thirty minutes.

As she walked out she noticed the sun was fully up now. She walked into the kitchen and saw it was 7:26. She groaned, she had taken off for the bathroom at six-thirty-one, which meant she had spent almost an hour in there, throwing her guts up. She turned around and walked into the living room to see that her mother had fallen asleep on the couch. "Mom." Rory said hoarsely, her throat still sore from all the acid she threw up. "Mom, wake up." Rory said, nudging her.

Lorelai woke up with a slight jump. "Damn kid, what the hell are you trying to do?!" Lorelai asked, placing a hand over her racing heart.

"Sorry. You fell asleep on the couch..." Rory said as she sat down in the arm chair. She tucked her feet under her and curled into the side of chair, to keep from shivering.

"Oh, right." Lorelai took in Rory's appearance and remembered why she had fallen asleep on the couch in the first place. "You ok kid? You look bad."

"Gee, thanks." Rory mumbled.

"That's not what I meant."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you." Rory mumbled, turning her head into the side of the chair.

"You didn't. Tristan did. I probably deserved it for using that pig alarm to wake you up weeks ago." Lorelai said, trying to lighten the mood.

After getting no response from her daughter, she continued, "I already called Charleston and told him you were under the weather and aren't going to make it to school today."

She nodded, biting her lip to keep from shivering.

"I sent Tristan to the store to get you some sprite and crackers. Of course he didn't want to at first, but I told him it would make you feel better."

"Ok, that's good." Rory mumbled, not wanting to talk.

"Now you," Lorelai said, pointing at Rory. "Need to get back to bed. You look like shit and could use the rest and you're shivering." she pointed out.

Rory nodded and slowly stood up from the chair and walked back into her room. She crawled under the covers, falling asleep in minutes as she warmed up.

- - -

Her head felt a mess of pain. She lifted it from her pillow only to fall back against it. She felt like she had the headache from hell. Her stomach churned. Probably from not having anything in it, after she lost all of it this morning. She turned her head, eleven-twenty-three.

She realized she had been stripped of her night pants and all she was in was her night shirt and hot pants.

There was a light knock on the door. She tried speaking up, but for the first time noticed how dry her throat was. She watched as the door was slowly pushed open, Tristan poked his head in. "Glad to see you're awake." he said, walking fully into her room with a bottle of Sprite.

He sat at the edge of her bed, "Here," he said, passing her the bottle.

He watched as she popped the top and took a long swig. "You are a life saver." she mumbled as she wiped a bead of sprite rolling down her chin. "How come you're not at school?" she asked, lifting herself onto her elbows.

"Well, there's this girl I really - I mean really like and she was kind of sick this morning and I, being the kind gentleman that I am, did not go to school to make sure she was okay and feeling better." he replied in his normal mordant tone.

Rory rolled her eyes. "Gee, thanks. I think." she said in the same tone Tristan used.

Tristan reached his hand, brushing a few strands of hair away from her face. "You feeling any better, baby?"

Rory let her elbows fall from under her and closed her eyes, feeling the careful way Tristan stroked her cheeks, her jaw and smoothly brushed her hair back. She opened her eyes to see him staring intently at her, the look he had when he was thinking attentively. She offered him a small smile, hoping he would see it and not be too far off in another world.

Shaking her head at the non-responsive Tristan, she sat up, leaning forward, gently brushing her lips across his neck. Keeping her lips there, not moving against his neck, just resting. Feeling him shake his head of his thoughts, she pulled back and looked up at him. "Hi."

So soft. Her voice was so soft, just like her lips, her touch.

If he was able to go back six months and have someone tell him he was going to be in a relationship with the new girl, he would have laughed and said they were crazy. But here he was, in a six month relationship, with a girl he loved - or as much as you can love someone at sixteen.

Jeez. What was love? Was it those butterflies you get just by thinking about them? Was it the need to always see them? Was it that part inside you that misses them after you hang out with them? Was it the need to always be with them - not in the clingy way?

Is it what keeps you from sleeping when they're not in your arms? Is it the way you can get lost in each others eyes? Is it the minute you walk them to the doorstep after a date and you're already counting until you can see them again? Is it the way a single touch, a single look is all it takes to speed your heart rate up?

To tell you the truth, I don't think any one human can give the same description of what they think love is. Love is different to each individual and means something else for each of them. In my opinion, Tristan mused, no one really knows what love is. Everyone can agree that love is wonderful and that no one should have to live without it, but generally speaking, no one can decide exactly what love is.

He knew, somewhere deep in his gut, that he loved the girl beside him. He may not be able to tell you what love is or what he thought it was but he knew. And that's all that mattered.

When he asked her out that day, he never fathomed that she would willingly agree. He knew asking her out would break the stride in their friendship… or the beginning of it, anyway. He had been standing next to her locker, listening to her vent about the articles Paris had dumped on her. She was too cute, he watched as she angrily pushed her hair back as she shoved her books into her bag.

She had been going on about Paris "How does she expect me to do three articles when teachers are telling us to prepare for exams!" when he interrupted her, asking her on a date. He didn't even mean too, he meant to say something about Paris being Paris.

A blind-man could have caught the surprise look on her face, the way her jaw slacked. But he'll always remember what happened next…_He stood up straighter as she whipped around to face him. "A date?" she repeated slowly, still shocked by the question. _

Tristan bowed his head and shuffled his feet before nervously lifting his head and meeting her eyes. "Yeah, a date. What two people go on when they like each other. . . ." God, I'm such an idiot, like she was actually going to say yes, she has made it perfectly clear -more than once-that she doesn't like me and wouldn't go out with me, Tristan mentally kicked himself.

_**Shit,** he thought as he saw the word forming on her tongue, he'd seen it before, he knew what she was about to say. "Look, just forget I asked." Tristan mumbled as he turned on his heel and walked towards the exit. Is it worth it, he mused, being rejected time and time again? He often asked himself, was it because he likes her that he wouldn't give up or was it because he had to boost his ego by getting the one who does not want you?_

_At first, he admitted, it was all about who could get the Mary, but the more he did, something happened. He wasn't sure when or where it happened but, he knew when Summer offered to blow him against the lockers, something wasn't right. It wasn't Summer nor was it that fact she offered a blow job in the hall. It was something within him._

_When he was around her he could not help but want to better himself._

_Yeah, Tristan thought, it was all for nothing._

_"Tristan! Wait!" Tristan stopped dead in his tracks. Was he hearing right? Was Rory really calling after him or was it in his head? He turned his head, looking over his shoulder, there she was, Rory Gilmore. And she was jogging after him. He mentally saved the picture before continuing to the front doors of the school._

_He was not going to let her do this. She could not get bent out of shape when he walks away from her after she rejected -or was going to-reject him. He was not doing it again. He let her play her role after Madeline's party, but not this time. He did not care if he sounded like a selfish bastard, he knew that kiss on the bench meant more than she was willing to admit. And he just put it all out there, he was going to fly or fall with one word._

_He didn't have to hear her say it, he'd seen before and knew she was going to say no. And that was the word that made him fall. At this moment, he knew he didn't love her but he knew he liked her._

_"Tristan! Please wait!"_

_Whether he meant to or not, his pace slowed, giving her the chance to catch up with him if she really wanted too. Somewhere along the stone steps, he realized if she only stopped him because she was going to apologize, it would crush him. He didn't know if he was ready to go through that. Whether he was willingly going through it or not he also realized he didn't want to know the outcome of it._

_He was half way through the courtyard at the beginning of the school when he felt fingers dig into his shoulder, urging him to turn around. He knew all the had to do was shrug her hand off and walk away, that it would all be over. Before he could take that first step forward he felt himself spinning on his other foot, twirling to meet her. _

_His face was serious, maybe a little hurt but she also saw his eyes swirling with emotion. She'd seen his eyes like that once before and it made her as breathless as she was feeling from jogging to keep up with him. She chuckled nervously, "In the hall it never seems like you walk that fast."_

_"Is that why stopped me?" he asked, making sure no hint of his emotions leaked through._

_Rory looked down at her feet, shuffling them, refusing to meet his eye. "No….um, not really." she said quietly._

_Tristan shoved his hands in his pockets, he damn sure wasn't going to make the first move here. If she wanted it done she would have to do it herself._

_His face took on an annoyed expression but he was anxious on the inside. Hoping that she had stopped him for a good reason… not to apologize. He knew she could see the depth of his eyes, all the emotions that were there to be read if desired._

_He watched as she nervously tugged on her hair, trying to get it to stay in one place from the wind whipping around. He noticed she looked slightly paler. Noticed the way she kept shifting her weight from one foot to the other. Noticed her fingers were shaking slightly as she wrapped them around locks of hair and pull them back._

_- - -_

_Rory looked at him, really looked at him. He looked… tired. Like each second he was standing here was draining him. She noticed his lips were set in a grim line. He stood there, with his hands shoved in his pockets like he was on the edge of boredom._

_Rory lowered her eyes from his face to the ground. She knew what he was doing. He was making her take that step she always hesitated on taking. The step that everyone around her always took for her. "Why did you run?" she whispered. She didn't think. She didn't want to because she knew if did she would run. She never understood how Rose could just let go when she was around Jack._

_But she was beginning too._

_- - -_

_Tristan's gaze hardened at her question. "What do you mean 'why did I run'? You were going to say no, so I saved myself the trouble of having to hear it." he snapped._

_Rory winced slightly under his hard tone. "How do you know I was going to say no?"_

_So weak, he thought. Her voice sounded weak like she was about to break any second. "I've watched the way your mouth moves and you've told me no enough in the past to realize when you're about to tell me no again." his voice was softer._

_He watched as she bit her lip, deciding what to say. He watched as she twirled a piece of hair around her fingers._

_"I guess this is it…" Tristan broke the minute of silence._

_When Rory didn't respond, Tristan nodded to himself, confirming. He slowly yet swiftly turned from her. His head hung low in defeat. This was defiantly, Tristan decided, a moment Trip Fontaine could relate too._

_He had only taken a few steps when she spoke, "What if I was going to say yes?"_

_Her voice may have been louder but it was still frail. Tristan slowly turned around, hoping that maybe this was real and she meant what she said. He stood in front of her, took a breather before he spoke, "Don't do me any favors, Rory."_

_She closed her eyes. Picturing he wasn't here, that she was talking to herself, "Who says I am?"_

_"I don't want you to agree to go on a date with me 'cause you pity me. I want you to go 'cause in some small way, you might like me too." Shit, since when do I sound like a girl? Tristan mused._

_She kept her eyes closed as she reached up to rub the bridge of her nose. "What if… in that small way… I actually do like you?" she whispered._

_Tristan could not help the smile that tugged at the corner of his lips and the soar of hope he felt. "But in the hall…"_

_She opened her eyes to look at him. "I know. And I was going to say no. But it was kind of a reflex. We've had it going since I got here… you ask me out… I say no." she admitted sheepishly._

_That put a small grin on his face. "But you were going to say…" he felt like such a wuss. She had already said she -in a small way- liked him. So why couldn't he finish the sentence?_

_"Yes?" she filled in. He nodded. "Yes, I was going to say yes."_

_Tristan gave her an impish look. "I was hoping you would."_

"You're feeling better, right?" he asked quietly as he ran a hand up and down her clothed back.

Rory smiled at his concern. "Yeah. I just have a headache and my stomach hurts a little."

Tristan shifted his weight, resting more comfortably on her bed, leaning toward her a little. He reached up, tucking the loose strands of hair behind her ear. "Are you up for Luke's?"

She thought a second before answering. "Mom probably stopped by there before she went to work and told him I spent the morning vomiting. So, if we were to go… he'd constantly ask if I was okay. And would also hover over us the whole time we were there"

Tristan chuckled lightly to himself. "Rore, babe, he's always hovering over us if I'm there."

Rory groaned to herself, knowing he was right. "True. Oooh, how about that little hole-in-wall Chinese place in New Haven? That place is so good."

Tristan laughed at her excitement. He leaned forward, resting his forehead against hers before whispering, "Anywhere."

- - -

"Someone, please make that thing stop ringing!" Michel whined, rubbing his temple.

"You always could." Lorelai replied as she checked over the inventory sheet.

"Why can't you do it?"

"One, because I'm busy doing something else. Two, it's what you're paid to do."

"Oh fine, I'll answer the blasted thing." He grumbled. "Independence Inn. Michel speaking."

"Yes, my I uh, please speak with Lorelai?"

"Hold one second." He held the phone out. "It's for you."

Lorelai sighed, she set her list down on the desk. "This is Lorelai. How can I help you?"

"Lorelai, it's Luke. I wanted to talk to you about Rory."

- - -

"I'm stuffed." Rory groaned, leaning back on the leather interior of Tristan's car.

"Me too." Tristan replied as he leaned back in his seat.

"I think I ate too much." Rory moaned from her seat.

Tristan lifted his head, his eyes sparkling. "You ate too much? My ears must be deceiving me."

"Urgh, it's not funny. My tummy hurts." she whined, rubbing her stomach.

"So, if I said I wanted to take you out for ice cream, you'd turn me down?"

Rory sat up straighter in her seat. Her eagerness shining through.

"So, ice cream it is." Tristan stated, smirking to himself.

She stuck her tongue out at him.

"Nice. Real nice." Tristan commented dryly.

Rory rolled her eyes, a smile gracing her lips. She reached over, turning the music down a little. "You never told me how you got to stay home from school today."

"Ah, it shall stay with me." he joked. "Nah, I called my mom and told her what happened, she said she would only allow that to happen once."

"What did you tell her?"

"That you spent an hour in the bathroom, throwing your guts up and that I wanted to stay with you."

Rory felt her heart warm from the sincerity in his voice. She never could have guessed she would be in any type of relationship with him. Looking back on it, she never would have done something like that before him. Standing in front of him, telling him she liked him. She'd never done anything like that before.

She smiled to herself, she was glad for it. She didn't know what would have happened if she had let him walk away from her but she didn't want to imagine it. These past few months had been some of her best. Because of him.

At one point in time, she had felt that way about Dean. Nevertheless, all those feelings, died out, like a dying flame. He complained whenever she went to the book store, knowing how she is around books. Always being standoff-ish whenever her and Lorelai did something quirky. He cavilled about that fact that she goes to Chilton.

From the first mention of Tristan, he asked her if he bothered her that day. Though at first, she thought it was sweet the way he cared. Gradually, it grew tiring and chafing. Slowly, all the things she found sweet, she soon found annoying. She tried her best to make the feelings that disappeared, resurface, but alas, nothing worked.

For the first time in weeks, she was happy and excited to go on a date with him. Their three month anniversary. From the beginning of the date, all her old feelings for Dean returned but she couldn't help but feel a nagging in the pit of her stomach. She ignored it and continued on.

When he brought her to the junk-yard, the nagging feeling came out full fledge. When he said those three little words, her breathing stopped. She couldn't believe it. She had opened her mouth to respond but her vocal cords stopped working. She couldn't say it back 'cause she didn't love him. But if he had given her time, she could have.

Sad thing was, he didn't want time. The time she wanted to gain those feelings for him. He wanted it right then and there. But she could not give him what he wanted because she didn't feel the same.

That was the night she learned first hand, things in Stars Hollow were not always perfect.

She looked over at Tristan while he drove. His left arm rested against the window, drumming his fingers along with the beat. While his right smoothly glided across the steering wheel. He was relaxed. She watched as he lipped the lyrics that were gently pouring from the radio.

Tristan. Just saying his name brought a smile to her lips, butterflies to her stomach. Passion in her heart.

And for her, that's all she needed.

- - -

Rory walked into her house, giggling as she licked the ice cream off her finger as Tristan trailed behind her with two gallons of ice cream. "I can't believe your mom said that to him."

Tristan smiled, kicking the door shut with his foot. "She did. At the time, I didn't find it funny, I was embarrassed as hel-"

"Rory! Thank God you're okay!" Lorelai yelled, interrupting Tristan as she ran from the kitchen to throw her arm around her baby. "I was so worried about you."

"I'm okay mom." Rory mumbled into her mothers jacket as Lorelai continued to crush Rory to her chest.

Lorelai pulled Rory from her grasp, settling her hands on her shoulders. "He called and said you weren't here, he heard you weren't feeling well and brought something over and that you were nowhere in the house. I was so scared something had happened." Lorelai said, pulling Rory into another bear hug.

Rory pushed back from her mother, taking a few steps back. "First of all, how many cups of coffee have you had?"

"Five. But that's not the point! You scared mommy half to death and I'm too young to die."

"Now that we've got that out the way, what were you talking about and who is 'he'?"

"Luke!" Lorelai exclaimed as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"What about Luke?" Rory asked, confused about her mothers actions.

"Gah." Lorelai threw her hands up in the air. She turned and marched back into the kitchen.

"Wha…." Rory trailed off, she hasn't seen her mother act this weird since… she broke up with Dean. When she was walking on eggshells around her and not wanting to say anything that might upset her.

"C'mon," Tristan said from behind her, nudging her.

"You can put those in the freezer." Rory said, pointing to the cartons of ice cream.

She walked into the kitchen and watched her mother as she poured herself a mug of freshly brewed coffee. "Can you tell me what you were talking about because I'm still a bit confused."

Lorelai took a drink from her coffee, hoping the hot drink would soothe her tight muscles. "I was at the Inn, going over the inventory list when the phone rings. Michel starts whining about it and I said something to him and he answers it. The caller asked for me. It was Luke."

"Yeah…" Rory says, pulled a chair out from the table. Out of the corner of her eye she can see Tristan placing the ice cream in the freezer.

"And he told me how he thought since you were home, not feeling well, he would bring you some of his home-made chicken soup. Only to find you not there. He said he looked all over the house and nothing. Checked out some of the places he knows you like to go and still nothing."

"Oh…" Rory trailed off. She watched as Tristan eased himself out of the room, feeling it was something for mother and daughter.

"Yeah, and he calls me, freaking out 'cause you were nowhere to be found. Only to freak me out! Do you know how scared I was?! I was sick out of my mind, thinking something bad must have happened to you. Then, you come waltzing in here with your boyfriend, giggling."

"Mom, he took me to eat."

"What's wrong with eating in Stars Hollow? I tried calling your cell but nothing. So I get home, still trying your cell but when I walk in, I hear it ringing So I think, 'Oh, Rory must be back' only to walk into your room and see it still hooked to the charger!"

Rory cringed, hearing her mothers ire in her voice.

"So, I grab your phone, thinking I'll call Tristan but it goes straight to his voice mail because he apparently turned off his phone!" Lorelai didn't know which one made her madder, the fact that Rory went off without telling her or the she went off with her boyfriend without telling her.

Rory looked down, knowing Tristan was hearing the whole thing. Rory closed her eyes. "What do you want me to say, mom?"

Lorelai scoffed. "That's rich. Your boyfriend drags you off to God knows where and you ask a question like that."

Rory rolled her eyes. "He didn't drag me off. I willingly went."

"What was wrong with eating in Stars Hollow?" she repeated.

Rory's patience was running thin as her angry started to bubble in her veins. "If you want to know, _I'm_ the one who suggested we eat at the place we went. He originally said Luke's but_ I_ told him no. Because I know you told Luke that I threw up all morning and he would be worried about me, and hovering over the table like a helicopter. And I didn't want to go to any place in town because I know how fast word travels around here and I just wanted to have a nice lunch, alone with my boyfriend. Without people asking me if I was okay all through the meal."

Some where in the middle of her rant, she had spread her palms out on the table and pushed herself back.

Lorelai's mouth formed an 'o', still in shock from Rory's outburst. Never had she spoken to her like that before now.

Rory shook her head, walking towards the living room. She found Tristan setting on the edge of the couch, his hands clasped in front of him, looking down at the floor from the space left from his arms. She slowly stepped forward, placing her hand on his shoulder. He still didn't look up.

Rory got down on her haunches, she carefully pulled his hands towards her, tucking his hands in hers. "Tristan." she said quietly. He still didn't look at her. "Tristan, please look at me."

When he did, her breath caught in her chest, he looked distraught. "Does she really hate me that much?" he asked in a horse whisper.

She closed her eyes, her lids burning from the tears that sprung up, begging to be released. At this moment, she hated her mother for making him feel this way. She leaned up, wrapping her arms around him, she buried her head in the back of his neck, keeping the tears at bay.

Neither of them saw the shadow from the door watching the entire exchange. Lorelai turned, pouring the rest of her coffee down the drain, suddenly sick.

She quickly wrote Rory a note, telling her she had to get back to work while keeping her own tears from falling as she quietly slipped out of the house.

- - -

"Okay, on December 23rd, my parents throw a Christmas party. We have it every year. Would you like to be my date for the night?" Tristan asked Rory.

A box of pizza, one and a half movies and one long talk later, Rory and Tristan was facing each other on the couch, talking. It was 4:09.

Rory had found Lorelai's note when she walked into the kitchen to retrieve the phone. Still angry with her mother, Rory just crumpled it up and threw it away.

"Sure. Is their a time I need to be ready?"

"8-ish."

"Sure. Mom always throws a party on Christmas Eve, come with me?" Rory asked with a twinkle in her eye.

"Yeah, no problem."

"So…"

"So?"

"So…"

"Is there a point here, Oh crazy one?" Tristan asked with a laugh.

"There's something that's been bugging me… I was wondering if you could answer it for me." She smiled at him sweetly.

Tristan gave her a bemused look. "Sure. Ask away."

Rory shifted her weight, moving until she was sitting in his lap, ankles locked behind his back. She smiled to herself when he groaned. "Y'know, you've called me crazy before but I know I went back to sleep with my night pants _on. _Care to explain why they were off?" she asked as she ran her fingers through his golden locks.

"There is a simple explanation, Lorelai turned up the heater before she left. And I came to get a book out of your room -since nothing was on TV and there was nothing else to do- and you had kicked your covers off and you were looking…" he trailed off as he raked his eyes over her body. "a little hot and sweaty. So, I took them off for you, of course."

Slowly, one of her hands creeped down to the nape of his neck while the other rested on his chest. "Hmm…" she mumbled as she licked her lips as she watched his. "I bet you did." She whispered before kissing him full on the lips.

He moaned as he felt her tongue wet and hot against his lips, seeking entrance. He gripped the cotton of her shirt as they fought for control. He felt the wild beating of his heart, letting him know he needed air. He pulled back hastily, filling his lungs with the air he wanted.

He smiled as he felt Rory snuggle into his chest. "Hmm… your warm and cosy."

Tristan smirked, "I can think of a few things that will make you warm and cosy too."

Rory smiled, a light blush tinting her cheeks. She lifted her head up, slowly closing the distance between their lips. As they softly brushed against each others, the doorbell rang.

Tristan groaned when Rory got up to answer the door.

Rory swung the door open to reveal a bubbly, bouncy curly headed brunet. "Madeline?"

"Rory! Here." She said, shoving her homework at her.

Rory looked down at the file in her hand, containing all her homework for the day. "Thanks Mads, you didn't have to come all the way out here, though."

"It's no problem. Is Tristan here?"

Rory shifted her eyes, seeing that she had parked her car right behind his car. "Yeah, in here. You want to come in for a sec?" Rory asked, opening the door wider.

"Sure, I have Tristan's work here too."

Rory shut the door as she watched Madeline strut towards the living room. She walked in as she passed Tristan his file of work. "Thanks Mads." he said as she set it down on the coffee table.

"Where's Louise?" Rory asked as she entered the room.

"Oh. She was caught with Bobby Baker in the washroom. She's in detention."

Tristan stifled a laugh while Rory cringed. "So, um… How's Paris?"

"You know, still breathing."

Rory cracked a small smile. "So, how come you were the one stuck with bringing us our homework?" she asked curiously.

Madeline walked through the living room, trailing her hand over objects. "Paris was supposed to but she pushed it off on me." she replied nonchalantly.

"Oh." Rory's smiled disappeared. She knew why Paris pushed it off on Madeline. "Sorry about that."

Madeline shrugged, finally taking a seat at the end of the couch. "It's cool, don't worry about it." she cleared her throat, turning towards Tristan. "So, I went to bring you your homework by _your _house but I was told you were here. Since last night."

Tristan rolled his eyes. "Yes, I drove Rory home and fell asleep on her couch. She woke up and wasn't feeling well… So I stayed."

"Sure, keep telling yourself that." she replied absentminded.

Rory cleared her throat, speaking up, "Did you have trouble finding the place?"

Madeline looked over at Rory. "Nah, not really." At Rory's confused look she continued. "I have GPS."

"Mhmm." Tristan said from his seat. He and Rory shared a secret smile.

"Sorry to cut this short, but I have to go. I have a date tonight." Madeline said as she stood up, moving towards the front of the house. Rory walked ahead of her with Tristan behind her as she opened the door for her. "Oh and Rory?" she paused as she took a step out onto the porch. "Don't worry about Paris, she'll get over it. And I just wanted to let you know, me and Louise think you make a great couple. Plus, you two look cute together." she winked before stepping off the porch and heading towards her car.

Rory smiled as she shut the door. "Did Madeline just give us her and Louise's blessing?

Tristan smiled, stepping forward and placing a kiss on the top of her head as he wrapped his arms around her. "I think so."

- -

- -

Ta-da! Like it? Hate it? Let me know.

Once again, sorry it took me a long to get out. I don't know when the next chapter will be posted but I'm going to make sure it doesn't take as long as this one did.

Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas!

"Now Dasher! Now Dancer! Now Prancer and Vixen! On Comet! On Cupid! On Donder and Blitzen! To the top of the porch! To the top of the wall! Now dash away, dash away, dash away all!"

Be safe.

_**Kelli**_


	7. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: **sadly, I do not own the Gilmore Girls

**A/N: **I'm baaack. See, I said I would get this out sooner. I wasn't going to install this chapter until we got back home because we're out of town at the moment but I can't wait. This chapter isn't as long as the last one but it covers a lot and sets it up for the next chap. Plus I'm really nervous about posting it.

In some of my reviews, some of y'all asked if I was making Rory pregnant. Sadly, I can't answer 'yes' or 'no' to that. BUT, don't quit reading until it is clear, it's not what you may think.

**Reviews: **Thank you guys so much, you rock!

- - -  
**Fairy Tales  
**- - -

_Love is the rhythm of two hearts beating  
Poundin' out a message steady and true  
Talk to me baby tell me what you're feelin'  
I know what love is  
What's it to you_

Rory sighed. Monday was not working out for her like she hoped for. During Friday night dinner Emily had noticed something going on between the two girls but when questioned, both smiled and said they were fine. Lorelai wasn't speaking to Rory. Rory had tired all through the weekend but Lorelai wouldn't budge. This morning, she had woken up late and jumped straight into the shower, only to find out their hot water heater was broken and ended up taking an ice cold shower.

Tristan had called her last night and told her he couldn't pick her up because him and Elizabeth had to go somewhere before the start of school. As soon as she walked through the intimidating doors, all eyes were on her. She sighed again. Today was definitely not working out for here. The bell had yet to ring and she couldn't open her locker.

Just great.

Rory rested her forehead against the cool metal before rearing back slightly and banging her head lightly against it. She felt long slim fingers dig into her shoulder, turning her around. She dropped the smile that quickly appeared on her face, thinking it was Tristan, instead, just another male to hit on her.

Just great. Where was Tristan when she needed him?

"Mary right?" he asked in condescending voice, a cocky smirk on his lips. "No, no, it's Rory. That's right."

His shaggy brown hair fell across his dark chocolate eyes. His olive skin tone went smoothly, almost as if it were painted on. She had to admit, he was… nice looking. His eyes were deep set; as if he knew something you didn't, hiding secrets, unnerving.

"Do I know you?"

"Aw," he said thickly. "still playing the Virgin card. C'mon, everyone knows you're banging Dugrey."

Rory's jaw dropped. How was she supposed to respond to that?

"And," he continued, "you have to be pretty good for him to keep you around. I have to give him props; I didn't think he would ever nail you."

Rory's fist clenched and unclenched. She wasn't the violence type but she wanted to deck the asshole in front of her. Before she could respond, in anyway, someone stepped in front of her. She watched the person raise their own fist, she didn't see it until the punch landed. That's all she had to go by since her view was obstructed by the body in front of her she recognized as Tristan's.

Tristan turned around, his face flushed red from anger. As he looked down at Rory, the flame in his eyes died down like a fire being watered down. He stepped forward, wrapping his arms around her tightly, burying his face in her hair, whispering, "I'm sorry."

Rory wrapped her arms around his torso, holding on to him tightly. She listened as the bell rung. They stood there, just holding each other, ignoring the warning bell that rang through the school. They pulled apart, the only ones left in the now deserted hallway. Rory angrily pushed at the silent tears that rolled down her cheeks.

"I'm so sorry, Rory." Tristan said as he cupped the back of her neck, kissing her tears away.

Rory smiled tightly, bringing his right hand up to her face, inspecting his knuckles, kissing them. She twined their fingers together. "It's not your fault, Trist."

He sighed, resting his forehead to hers. "But it is. I should have never let you step foot in here without me. He was vicious. He knew what to say. It was like he has done this before." He sighed again. "I practically set you up, no one would have said anything if I was with you." his voice has dropped down to above a whisper.

Rory's heart clenched. "You had something to do with your Mother. Don't blame yourself, it would have happened anyway. It just had to be today. I don't blame you, Tristan, and neither should you."

Tristan nodded, tucking strands of hair that had fallen out of her tail behind her ear. "I still feel like it's my fault. You wouldn't be in this mess if it wasn't for me. I thought it meant something to sleep with every female I could." he paused, inhaling her scent. "But it meant nothing. And I have something in my life that is precious, and everyone thinks it is a joke."

"All my fault." he whispered.

Tears welled up in Rory's eyes. She knew he was feeling somewhat guilty but she didn't know he completely blamed himself. "No." Rory shook her head. "If I hadn't been so stupid and just been open about our relationship, we wouldn't be here right now. But honestly, we would still have gone through this. At some point in time. Just please Trist, don't do this, and don't be so hard on yourself. You did nothing wrong, neither one of us is to blame." Rory asked, stray tears running down her face.

Tristan moved, hugging her body tightly against his, leaving no space between the two. Rory bit her lip, trying to keep the tears from free-falling. This whole thing was a mess. Maybe, she shouldn't have kept their relationship secret. She lost all her self-control as Tristan whispered in her ear, "I love you so much, Rory."

- - -

"This is such a mess." Rory and Tristan were setting on the floor under his locker, leaning their back up against the metal surface. They had somewhere around fifteen minutes before the bell rang. Tristan had calmed her down. His arm was wrapped around her shoulders as she leant her head on his chest.

"Yeah," Tristan replied, reaching up with his free had to rub the bridge of his nose. "but we'll get through it, Rory. Guys are going to give you hell because of this but, it'll cool down after a while."

Rory sighed, something she seemed to be doing a lot lately. "I know," she snuggled deeper into his chest. "I just want things to go back to the way they were."

Tristan brought his hand down, running it tenderly through her hair. "So you want us to hide our relationship again?"

Rory raised her head, sitting up straighter. "No. I just want us to be together without these people thinking you have ulterior motives, that I'm just another roll in the sheets. That I'm just another girl who fell prey to you. That we can hold hands and not have the guys stare in disgust and the girls sending icy glares."

Tristan leaned down, kissing her lightly on the lips. "Me too. But it's going to be that way, it may take a month but it'll be that way."

Rory looked down at the floor. "How can you be so sure?"

Tristan smirked, "You think I'm the only playboy, in the history of this school, to fall in love?"

Rory's head snapped up, she turned her head, facing Tristan with blazing eyes.

"About two years ago. Devon Hensing, I think his name, I don't remember. He was picky but still made his way through the girls. Kathy Hares. He didn't even know she existed. They were paired together for a project. He tried his normal charm. It didn't work. So he tried other ways. Anyway, after the project was over, he let her be. Didn't bother her again.

"Until about a month later. He'd seen her at a party with a guy. Later in the night someone started screaming. So he rushed to see what it was. It was Kathy and a guy she was with, he apparently tried to force himself on her and she started yelling. So of course, the guy got the living shit beat out of him. Some girls tried to get Kathy to calm down but it wasn't working. So Devon took a hand at it and tried. It worked. He got her calmed down enough and drove her home."

Rory watches in awe as Tristan told the story. The way he waved his hands to get a point across. Or the way he would pick up or slow down during certain parts in the story. But the part that had her completely spellbound was his smooth voice and the fact he seemed to be telling it as if he himself was Devon.

"After that they became friends. She didn't cross into his popularity scene and he didn't ditch his friends. But they had a strong friendship. A few months down the line, he found out that the guy at the party was a friend she had brought with her and that the guy had tried to contact Kathy again.

"So one day, about four months after the party, the guy -I'm going to start calling him Kevin 'cause I'm tired of saying 'guy'- shows up at school and tries to get Kathy to talk to him. During lunch he wanders into the courtyard, where she and Devon are eating. He starts talking but Kathy tells him she doesn't want to hear it. So she gets up to leave but he grabs her by the arm and won't let her go.

"So Devon gets up and gets in Kevin's face, and Kevin pushes Kathy to the ground and he and Devon start to fight. Of course classmates and friends break-up the fight between the two. Devon looks around and doesn't see her anywhere and runs back inside the school. He doesn't find her anywhere on the first floor so heads up to the second, he finds her in the library, in the back corner. Curled into a ball.

"And as they say, the rest is history." Tristan smirked teasingly.

"That's it? You're not going to tell me the rest of it?" She asked, temporally forgetting about their own problems.

"Of course I am, I just wanted to see your reaction. Anyway," Rory listened as his rich voice washed over her once more. " Devon sees that Kathy's lip is bleeding. When Kevin pushed her to the ground, she bit into it. She's freaking 'because he'd been bothering her for a week or so but she didn't think he would show up at school. He's just sitting there listening to her talk, letting her get it all out and it hits him, he's in love with Kathy Hares.

"He doesn't tell her. He doesn't think it's a good time to tell her he's in love. So he waits. About two weeks later, she's bashing the male population because of something a classmate did and they have a fight. They don't talk for another two weeks. She takes the first step and talks to him first, going on and on about how she shouldn't have said the things she said and he just blurts it out, 'I love you'. Her eyes tear up and she whispers, 'I love you, too'."

"Is that it?"

Tristan chuckled. "Well, I know they were together when they graduated. I don't know if they're still together." he shrugged.

"How do you know the story so well?" she asked the question that had been nipping at her. The way he held her captive during the whole sum of the story left her breathless and wanting more.

"Well,-" Tristan started but his voice was drowned out as the bell over head rung, signaling the end of class.

Tristan stood up, offering his girlfriend a friendly hand off the ground. "C'mon Ms. we have to get going."

- - -

_"Just leave me alone Tristan!" Rory growled._

_  
"I will, when you admit you want me." Tristan responded smoothly._

_"Uhh. Just get over yourself already!" Rory yelled, slamming her locker shut before heading towards her next class._

_"Mary, come on." Tristan said, following her down the hall._

_"Something's different between them," Paris commented as she watched Tristan chase Rory down the hall._

_Louise and Madeline looked at her as if she were crazy. "You mean, you haven't noticed?" Louise asked slowly._

_It was Paris' turn to look at them as if they were crazy. "What are you two talking about?"_

_"I can't believe she hasn't noticed." Louise mumbled to herself._

_"Would you stop saying how I haven't noticed and just tell me already?" Paris snapped, losing her patience._

_"You know the sexual tension that's between Rory and Tristan?" Louise asked._

_"What do you mean?" Paris asked with a raised eyebrow._

_"Well, that sexual tension is... Well, not as suffocating. And there's only one way to lose that kind of tension." Louise stated._

_Paris stood there, stunned at what she just heard. Did Rory and Tristan really sleep together? "Are you saying that Gilmore and Dugrey...?"_

_"Yep. Rory -prude- Gilmore and Tristan -playboy- Dugrey have had sex."_

_"I don't believe this." Paris mumbled, shutting her locker and walking toward the newspaper room._

_- - -_

_"Rore?" Tristan called her name out as he turned down an empty hall. "What the...?" he yelled as pair of hands jerked him into an empty classroom. He immediately relaxed when he felt a pair of familiar lips on his. He wrapped his arms around the petit girl's waist, bringing her closer to him. He let out a deep groan when her tongue traced his lips, seeking entrance._

_They broke apart when oxygen was needed. Tristan rested his forehead against hers, closing his eyes._

_Rory smiled at his relaxed face. She brought her head up and traced his jaw. "We have to go." It was spoken so softly she almost didn't hear him. _

_Rory pouted. "I don't want to"_

_"Trust me Mare, me neither but we have too. Someone might get suspicious." he stated. _

_"I think Louise and Madeline are." she said as she wrapped her arms around his neck._

_"I think the whole school is." He kissed her softly on the lips before regretfully, pulling out of her embrace. "You go out first." he said, jerking his head towards the door._

_She pulled her bottom lip between her teeth and nodded. She stood on her toes and gave him a lingering kiss, a promise to make it up to him later._

_Tristan watched as she poked her head out the door, to make sure no one was around. He heard her sigh in relief and watched as she walked out of the door. He drew in a deep breath through his nostrils and slowly let it out. Six months and they were still secretly dating. Slowly but surely, he was getting irritated with the whole "not until I'm ready, then we'll let them know" bit. _

_When he agreed to keep their relationship a secret he did not know six months later, that it would still be a fucking secret. He pushed his fingers through his tousled hair as he squared his shoulders and opened the door. "So, who's your classmate this time?" A smug voice asked him._

_"None of your damn business." _

_"Why you so testy? Let me guess, you haven't gotten laid in a while, right?"_

_Tristan rolled his eye. "Yeah, because that's always been a problem for Me." he stated arrogantly._

_"Well, if you are having a problem getting some, I can always help. I mean, you haven't nailed anyone since you started hanging out with Gilmore."_

_"Whatever." Tristan turned and walked towards his History class. _

_"She really has you around the balls, doesn't she?"_

_Tristan clenched his fist at his sides but kept walking._

_"Y'know, I was hoping some part of you was in there. The player - the King. Not someone who does what ever little Miss Princess asks him to do. What's the point if you're not even fucking her?" _

_"What the fuck is your problem Summer?" Tristan whipped around, sending her a fiery glare._

_"Me?" she asked innocently, holding her hand up to her chest. "I don't have a problem. It's you that has a problem. You're jumping through hoops for some girl when you can have any one you want. What's so special about her?" she asked in an eerie calm voice._

_He opened his mouth to say something but thought better of it. The look in his eyes changed from angry to malicious. His tight lips turned into his normal smirk as he advanced toward his ex-girlfriend. He stopped an inch from her and placed his hands on her waist. He spun her around and pushed her into the row of lockers, pushing his body into hers._

_He hissed when she nipped at his neck, not from pleasure but to keep from stepping away from her. He slowly brought his hands up to the back of her neck and fisted her hair in his hands, pulling it so her eyes could meet his. He gave her an un-trustworthy grin as his lips descended to her ear. With his lips just meters away, he stopped and whispered, "What do you want Summer?" _

_She tired to move her neck but he held her in place, not allowing her to move. Raspy, she said, "I want you to fuck me. Right here, right now." _

_Tristan tugged her hair harder to keep from moving away from her. He slowly breathed into her ear, making her hips roll into his. He closed his eyes tightly, forcing himself to stay on track. "You want me to fuck you. Right here, right now, huh?" he asked. He got his answer as she slipped her knee between his legs, rubbing up and down._

_He clenched his jaw, reminding himself to stay on track. "Well, one of two things is going to happen. I can screw you, like you want or I won't. _

_"You want to know the reason you hate Rory? You're jealous of her." Tristan smirked to himself, knowing he won as he felt her tense against him. "You can tell the whole school we fucked like rabbits but you will always know the truth. All we did was fool around. I never touched you like you wanted me too. And you're jealous of her because you know, one day, I will be over her, driving in and out of her and as I come, it will be her name. Not yours." He smirked even more as he felt her hands run up his chest and push him away. He did not budge; he stood there, trapping her against the lockers. _

_"Tell me Summer, am I wrong?" He asked, his breathe still teasing her._

_He laughed aloud as he felt the pressure against his chest increase._

_"I'll take that as a no." he whispered in her ear and stepped away from her. Sending her a smirk, he walked off, leaving her alone. _

Summer sighed, the images of that day floating through her mind. He knew what to say and knew what to do to get her attention. He did it all perfectly.

Looking back on it, she could see him biting the insides of his cheeks, at the time she thought he was doing it to resists kissing her until he knew what she wanted. Hindsight, he was biting his cheeks to keep from moving away from her. She could feel it in the way he touched her. He did not want her.

Before the break-up he touched her with lust filled hands. Rough. Demanding. They drowned each other with lust. During that day, weeks ago, he touched her with hesitant hands, as if he was dipping his hands in acid. They were cold, no hint of the lust he once carried for her. She knew it that moment, it was over.

Stubborn was a word well acquitted with Summer so she refused to believe that there would be no more Summer & Tristan. She'd left him alone after the locker incident. The first time she approached him afterwards was that fateful day. The day the whole of Chilton found out that Tristan had his Mary.

The moment she saw the way he looked at her, under that big leafy tree, she knew. Slowly, as she watched the scene unfold, she could hear the shattering of her heart. She has been in love with him and she pushed him away.

Pushed him into Rory Gilmore's arms.

Tristan had it right. She was jealous of her. Summer scoffed to herself, how could she not be? She had brains. A mother who did not push her to be something she wasn't. Friends who liked _her, _not her last name. And she had Tristan.

Summer blinked back tears at the thought, pushing angrily at the stray tears running down her rosy cheeks. It was a well known fact that her parents didn't love each other; they were part of an arranged marriage. Her mother had been in love with her boyfriend at the time of the marriage. And her father pushed away anyone who got to close to him. He still did, she thought sadly.

She'd been over the moon when Tristan asked her out. Maybe a little scared because he brought out feelings within her that she didn't understand. She just shrugged it off.

Shortly after dating, she figured it out that he was using her to try and make Rory jealous. Hurt, maybe even a little rejected, she still dated him. Thinking she could change his mind.

However, the night of the party, she saw the way he looked at _her _and knew she could never amount up to Rory Gilmore. She also realized being with him was breaking her heart more and more. In the back of her mind, she knew she loved him, just refused to admit it. So she pushed him away before he could hurt her anymore.

Summer slowly stood from the bathroom floor, hating that she felt this way. She smoothed out her skirt before checking her make-up in the mirror. She smiled tightly; glad she decided to pass on mascara today. She re-applied her powder, hiding where her tears had fallen. She coated her lips with gloss, hoping the redness would go down from where she bit her lip to keep from sobbing.

As she entered the cafeteria doors, her eyes were on auto pilot and automatically spotted _them. _She turned her eyes and walked towards the lunch line. Even as she stood in line, holding her tray, she couldn't help but looked towards them again.

She had to concede, they did look great together. As her helpless eyes watched the couple, she could tell they were happy together. Tristan's eyes shone brighter than she was used to seeing. He smiled a lot more too. And Rory, her bright eyes had an extra glow to them.

She watched on as Tristan wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her tighter against him. He glanced around the room before slowly leaning down and taking his lips in a slow, loving kiss. Summer trained her eyes on her tray as she moved forward. Her throat constricting.

He loved her.

She saw it in the way he kissed her. He had gently moved his lips against hers, as if he was savoring the moment forever. The way he had moved his arm across her back, anchoring her to him.

She felt tears well in hers eyes.

No, she thought, she wasn't going to cry. She was stronger than this.

She moved her eyes regretfully back to the couple. Rory had her head leaned against his side, her eyes closed, relaxed. And saw Tristan playing with the ends of her hair as he watched her with lovers eyes.

This, she knew, was the happiest he'd ever been.

And for that, she could be happy for him.

- - -

"Mmm." Rory moaned as he slid his tongue in her mouth. She sighed into the kiss, running her hands down his bare back, enjoying the way his muscles jumped at her touch.

Rory hissed as his mouth suddenly left hers and bit down on the tender flesh above her breast. She sighed as he licked over the other before biting into it once more. She arched her back as she felt him suck the skin into his mouth. As she ran her hands through his hair she felt his free hand reach down between their tangled bodies.

She shifted her hips, rising them an inch above her bed as he began to unbutton her jeans. She listened for the hissing of her zipper before she rested fully on the bed again. Tristan began moving back up her body as he pulled the flaps of her open denim apart. Rory turned her neck, giving him more skin to kiss. He made sure his tongue tasted all her skin as his knee pushed her legs apart farther, resting between her thighs. He moved up, taking a lobe in his mouth, sucking lightly.

"God, Tristan, you're killing me." Rory mumbled as he licked the outer shell of her ear.

Tristan smirked as he settled over Rory once again, his lips just out of her reach. "Oh trust me; this is just the beginning babe." Rory sighed contently as his lips pushed back onto hers. Over the months she found herself addicted to his kisses. She soon found out she could tell his mood from how he kissed her. If he was in a playful mood, he nipped and licked at her lips. If he was in was in a loving mood, he would kiss her thoroughly. If he was in bad mood, he was a rough, demanding. If he was just plain out horny, she normally knew without him kissing her.

Rory nipped at his lips as her hands trailed down his back, tracing around the waist band of his jeans. She smirked against his lips as her hands moved round his front, unbuckling his belt, unbuttoning and pulling the zip of his jeans. Tristan groaned and grabbed her hips, gently rolling them on her single bed until she straddled his thighs.

Rory giggled as she pecked at his lips one last time before moving to his chest. Rory gently began kissing over the purple spot on his peck, where she marked him earlier. She gently traced it with her thumb as she moved to the opposite side, sucking his skin into her mouth.

With a last few nips at his skin, she sat up. "Tris?" she asked, tracing his abs.

"Yeah?" he asked, looking up at his shirtless girlfriend. He could tell she was in a playful mood.

"Do you like..." she trailed off as she grinded down over him.

Tristan groaned, cupping her bra covered chest in his hands.

"I could be completely wron-" she stopped suddenly as her door opened. "Oh God." she mumbled, leaning down, hoping to cover herself from view as Lorelai walked into her room.

Lorelai froze the moment she saw Rory straddling Tristan, his hands groping at her breast. Rory had leaned down, covering her front from view, molding herself to Tristan. She buried her head in his shoulder as his left hand splayed on the center of her back, his right staying in her view. "You two going to get dressed or just lay there?"

Rory rolled off Tristan, hiding herself from view. As soon as Rory left his body, Tristan sat and swung his legs over the side of her bed, keeping his back towards Lorelai.

Tristan reached down, pulling his shirt over his head before he stood up.

Lorelai closed her eyes, wishing she had not just heard both of them pulling their zippers up. As both teens turned around, neither would meet her eye, but Rory's face was flushed candy apple red. Tristan had a light pink tint in his. Lorelai hooked her fingers, ordering them to follow her. As she reached the living room she said:

"Tristan, I think it's best if you go home." she stated as she turned around.

Tristan nervously looked at his girlfriend's mother before turning to meet Rory's eyes.

As he was turning to leave he noticed Rory take a deep breath. "Tristan stays."

Tristan froze, hearing her voice.

He glanced over his shoulder and saw the ire in Lorelai's eyes. Glaring at her daughter. "This is my house and I'm your mother. Tristan, leave." she ordered, looking straight at Rory.

He looked at Rory and noticed she too, had that same flame in her eyes. She snorted out a laugh. "You only pull the mom card when you don't agree on something I've done or am going to do. Or when I make you mad. Tristan - stay. You can wait in my room." She too didn't look at him as she spoke and realized it wasn't about him. It was about them. He nodded slowly. He walked over to her and pulled her in hug, whispering in her ear, "Be strong."

She tilted her head and as she saw him, the flame in her eyes had disappeared. He leaned up, pressing a quick kiss to his lips. "I will." she said when she pulled back.

Lorelai stood, frozen to the spot as she watched the two, she too, had seen the fire in Rory's eyes calm as she looked up at Tristan and even though she was mad, her eyes shone brighter for just a second. She watched as Tristan disappeared into her daughter's room and gently closed the door behind him.

"You have no right," she started off but Rory cut her off.

"To what? Want to be alone with my boyfriend or defend him when you're blaming him?" Her eyes are deep blue as she stared Lorelai in the eyes. She can feel the angry coursing through her veins.

"I didn't blame him." she yelled.

"But you were going to! Like you always do! Friday it was because he took me out of Stars Hollow to eat. The one before that was because you thought he pushed me into having sex with him. After I told you, I was willing and insinuated it! I'm sure there are ones I don't even know about."

Lorelai opened her mouth to reply but knew Rory was right about everything she said. "There are... things that I don't like about him." she responded slowly, evenly.

"You don't even know him. How can you say you don't like him when you don't know him?"

Lorelai inhaled, taking a deep breath. "Do you seriously think I'm going to like the boy who I walk in on, groping my daughter?!"

Rory rolled her eyes. "No. But do you think the attention was unwanted?" she asked without blushing.

Lorelai closed her eyes, wanting to rid the thoughts of Tristan grabbing at Rory's breast. Wanting to see the little girl who used to run around in a tutu and when she got boo-boo's wanted her to kiss it to make it feel better. "What happened to you? You never used to be like this."

Rory softened a little at seeing her mother finally break, tears slipping from her eyes unknowingly, her vulnerability mixing with her anger. Rory slowly walked toward the chair and slowly sank into the seat. "I grew up. I had my heart broken and I fell in love. I lost my virginity. Need I go on?"

Lorelai walked over and sat on the couch moving to the end closest to Rory. "Rory." she started off.

Rory shook her head, finally letting the built up tears come down. "No. No, let me say this. You used to tell me, no matter who I dated, as long as I was happy, you'd be happy for me. And Tristan makes me so unbelievably happy Mom. You have to know that, you've seen me around him plenty of times. When I look at him... everything else melts away. Like it's only me and him. And when he looks at me, I can literally feel my heart skip a beat. I know it sounds corny and we mock scenes like this in the movies but...this is how I feel.

"I... You told me when I was dating Dean to let you know if I was going to take that step. I didn't tell you, I knew Dean and I weren't going to take it that far, I didn't feel about him the way I do Tristan. And to be honest... I never thought about that with Dean." she paused gathering her thoughts. "I didn't think about it at first with Tristan but... he makes me feel sexy. Like I'm wanted. I'm going to get a glass of water." she whispered as she stood up. She walked into the kitchen and pulled a glass from the dish drain before placing it under the faucet.

She took a sip as she walked back into the living room. She sat the glass down on the coffee table before tucking herself back into the chair.

"I knew you weren't going to get along with Tristan the way you did with Dean but I was hoping you would at least accept him because he made your daughter happy. At first, yeah, I thought you did but I soon realized it was just a façade. You didn't like him, not really. You just wanted me to think you did.

"We finally figured out that no matter what he did, you still weren't going to like him. You know how much that hurts me? My mother, my best friend, the person who said she'd always be there for me and be happy for me no matter what the circumstances, makes me feel horrible because she doesn't like my boyfriend." Rory paused, swiping at the tears falling from her crystal eyes. "I know you don't like that we have sex, so what? I was prepared and I even told you, weeks before it happened that I was ready to go all the way with him. Like you asked me to do.

"You've given me advice about the whole keeping our relationship a secret. You never said anything that would give me any inkling to how much you really disliked him. I started reading or rather, listening, between the lines and picked up on it. And how you were subtly blaming him for things. I know you don't mean to, but you make me feel bad about being with him. It feels like you make me choose between the two."

Rory sighed, bracing herself for what she was about to say. "At first, I thought you didn't like him because he's from Hartford. Until I overheard something you said. You don't like him because he's not Dean. My first boyfriend." Rory shook her head sadly. "You have no idea how much that thought alone makes me mad. Some part of me was hoping that it wasn't true, but the look on your face proves me wrong." Rory stood up, drying her tears with her palm. She took one last look at her mother before walking towards her room.

- - -

Rory leaned back against her door after shutting it, closing her eyes. She felt his eyes on her. She opened them and gave him a tight smile. "Hey," she said softly, walking towards his stretched out body on her bed.

"You okay?" he asked as she laid her head on his chest.

"How much did you hear?"

He shrugged. "Just a little."

Rory leaned up, pressing her lips to his, "I love you." she whispered.

"I love you too." he said as she wrapped his arm around her tighter.

Wanting to keep her warm.

Wanting to protect her from her pain.

But most of all, wanting her to stop shaking.


	8. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: **sadly, I do not own the Gilmore Girls. Nor do I own Bartlett Arboretum & Gardens or Chilis.

**- - -  
Fairy Tales  
**- - -

_So maybe you could walk with me a while  
And maybe I could rest beneath your smile  
Everybody stumbles sometimes and needs a hand to hold  
'Cause it's a long trip alone_

"Your mom is going to start worrying if you spend too many nights over here." Rory commented lightly as Tristan opened the door for her. After last nights incident they had laid together on her bed, not saying anything. Later when she had got up to use the bathroom she noticed Lorelai was no where in the house. As tears burned through her lids, she pushed them back, tired of all the tears she had cried. She washed her face before returning to her room. Tristan had just got off the phone, telling her that their Thai food would be there soon, before calling Elizabeth and asking permission to spend the night.

Lorelai didn't come home last night, Rory thought sadly as Tristan slid into the seat beside her.

"No," Tristan's rich voice pulled her out of her depressing thoughts. "she knows I'm worried about you and wants you to be okay and happy as much as I do." he said softly.

Rory smiled. "She really likes me, huh?"

"Yeah, she really likes you." he reassured as he moved the gear to reverse before gently applying pressure to the pedal.

"Even if I am taking her only child away from her?" she teased.

"No," he said, turning the car forward, shifting the gear to drive as he pressed forward. "I just think she's happy I've found some who makes me happy and cares for me the way I care for her." he stated truthfully.

Rory could feel her heart fluttering. As he pulled up to a red light she gently turned his lips to hers, stealing kisses.

"Okay, okay," Tristan said as the kiss ended, neither noticing the shadow on the sidewalk that saw the entire exchange. "You just sit back and read your book while I drive."

Rory gave him a grateful kiss before sitting back in her seat, pulling her current book from her bag and opening it to her saved page.

Tristan watched Rory from the corner of his eye, worriedly. She didn't really speak of what happened between her and her mother. She just gave him a small run through, vague on details. He flexed his knuckles on the steering wheel. It was his fault she was fighting with Lorelai. They had been best friends before he came along. They had a nice rhythm, a way of life only they understood. And he ruined it for her.

He knew why Lorelai didn't like him. He didn't have to hear it from Rory. He had caught on to her subtle hints of Dean in front of him, though Rory never picked up on them. At first, he thought it was because he was from the world she left. Then he noticed the way she would casually point out that Dean and Rory used to do such things together. The way she sometimes pointed out that Dean was across the street from the diner.

It wasn't the fact that he was a Hartford Elite. Nor was it really about Dean. Lorelai saw him as a threat. Taking Rory and pushing her into the world she walked away from. Stealing Rory away from her.

He had heard enough of the pervious to know Lorelai wasn't going to accept their relationship unless she was positive that Tristan didn't push her to do anything she was not comfortable doing. Until she knew that he had no interest in anyone else but her daughter. And that when he said he loved her, he meant it.

Nevertheless, no matter how much he knew to be true about Lorelai and why she did not like him, that she was pushing Rory farther away from here she really wanted her to be, he knew he had played a part in it. And the guilt of it hung heavy on his heart.

- - -

Tristan reached over, turning the radio off. "Alright, tell me what's up?" he spoke, glancing at Rory. They were twenty minutes from Chilton and all through the ride; she had only turned three pages.

He heard her sigh before gently closing her book. She looked up. "I... I just hate that I'm fighting with her. We've never fought like this before and no matter what I say, she won't believe me."

Tristan reached over, gently laying his hand over hers. "It's going to be okay. Things should be getting better at school; I heard Stacey Misk stuffs her bra."

Rory drew her eyebrows together. "The head cheerleader?"

"Yeah, she was dating Tony Anderson and they went to a party this past weekend and she ended up trashed and they went to find a room and when he took her shirt off, it wasn't the surprise he was hoping to find." he smirked lightly.

"That's..." Rory trailed off, an amused smile on her lips.

"Oooh, slug bug." Rory said, punching Tristan in the arm.

"Hey," Tristan said, correcting the wheel from his swerve. "warn me before you do that, you don't want us to crash."

"Okay. Slug bug." Rory punched him the arm again as another doodlebug passed by.

"I didn't know you played slug bug." Tristan commented as he eased on the break as they came to a stop sign. "Oh and, slug bug." Tristan reached over and lightly punched Rory in the arm before accelerating again.

"Hey!" Rory cried. "You're not supposed to hit me."

"Are we not playing slug bug?" he asked confused.

"No, I'm playing. You're driving." she giggled.

"Sorry babe, if you're playing, I'm playing too."

Rory crossed her arms over her chest, slouching in the seat mumbling. "Dean wouldn't have hit me."

She froze in her seat, realizing what she has just said. She closed her eyes, taking deep breaths, wishing she could go back five minutes. As she slowly peeled her lids open, she looked over at Tristan. His jaw was set, tense. His gaze hard on the road in front of him. His playful attitude thrown out the window like a cigarette butt. She glanced at the wheel, realizing his knuckles were white.

"Tristan..." she said slowly, hoping the furious beating of her heart was soon on its way to calm down.

She knew she messed up. God did she know it. He hated Dean and she just bluntly said he wasn't Dean. "Tristan, I..." she didn't know what to say. It wasn't helping that he was glaring at the road in front of them. Nor did it help any when she had no idea what to say. She knew saying she was sorry was not going to work. And the fact he was going over 70 MPH was scaring her shitless.

Rory shrank in her seat. She had done more then raise his ire; she insulted him and made him feel like he wasn't good enough for her. All in one stupid moment. Rory folded her hands in her lap, looking down, blinking back tears. She didn't have Lorelai. Lane was grounded for a month. She and Paris were on non speaking terms. And now she just might have lost Tristan too.

- - -

Rory winced, hearing the squealing rubber of his tire on the pavement. She looked out the window and noticed they were five minutes from Chilton when she realized he had parked on the side of the road. She looked over at the driver and saw he was stiff, still glaring out of the windshield.

"Tristan I-"

"Does everything always have to be fucking about you?" he snapped, cutting her off.

Rory looked down, for once not knowing how to reply.

"I get that I'm never going be like _him_ but do you have to rub it in?"

"I wasn't rubbing anything in!" Rory shouted.

"For someone not trying to rub anything in, you sure can make them feel like shit." he finally looked at her. Letting her see how her words affective him.

Was it possible for guilt to pile on top of guilt? If it is, she knew how it felt. "I'm sorry." she whispered.

"I get that you and your mom have this world you live and you may not realize your words can and have hurt someone. So you can play a stupid game, I can't. You can mock me about something until the sun goes down but the moment I do the same to you, you get high and mighty on me. Talk about double standards." he spat.

Rory squeezed her eyes shut, wanting the river of tears wading behind her eyes to dry. She held her tongue, knowing everything he was saying was rightfully true.

Tristan looked out the window, shaking with anger and hurt. Raspy, he whispered, "I need you to get out before I do or say something I'm later going to regret."

Rory looked at the back of his head before nodding to herself. She gathered her stuff together before opening the car door. "I'm so sorry Tristan. I really am. But I've already lost you." she said the last part to herself as she gently shut the door before watching him drive off.

She'd lost him.

It wasn't what Lorelai thought would happen at all. She was the one that screwed it up.

And standing by the curb in her Chilton uniform, clenching her jaw to keep from shivering, tears running down her cheeks, was the loneliest she ever felt before.

- - -

Sookie sat at her kitchen table, peering through the doors at Lorelai's sleeping form on her couch. She had shown up last night, looking lost and utterly broken. When she had asked what was wrong, Lorelai just shook her head and wiped at the stray tears on her cheeks. She really began to worry when she offered her coffee and Lorelai pushed it away. She had never seen her friend do that. Ever.

She looked over at her best friend and frowned. She was curled into a ball, her fist clenching the blanket covering her, like she was fighting demons in her sleep. The one place you were supposed to be free of them.

Sookie stood up, gathering the fixings for her tea. She knew that Lorelai was letting Rory's relationship with Tristan bother her more then it should. She had seen the two together, she can't name the last time she saw Rory as happy as she was. And she noticed the way Tristan's eyes lit up when he looked at Rory. She had seen the way they kept their distance from each other in front of Lorelai. He always was polite when in front of her.

She knew Tristan wasn't perfect from what she learned through Lorelai. But she also knew Lorelai wasn't giving him a fair chance. She didn't always agree with what Lorelai did and the way she treated Tristan was one of them.

As she set the kettle over the flame she heard Lorelai stir from the living room. Sookie paused, pushing a smile to her lips before turning around. "Hey sleeping beauty." Sookie said, hoping it was as cheerful as she meant it to sound.

Lorelai mumbled incoherently as she pulled out a chair before sinking into it.

"You want some coffee? I'll put some on if you want."

"No. No coffee. I'll just have some tea." Lorelai said as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes.

"Oh. Okay." Sookie said bewildered, reaching up and pulling another mug down. That was twice within twenty-four hours she turned down coffee. Something really must be up.

Sookie took her place back in her chair, looking at Lorelai with concern. ""Hun, you want to tell me what's wrong, you're freaking me out a little."

Lorelai buried her face in her hands. "I screwed up, Sookie." she whispered into her hands.

Sookie paused, making sure she heard correctly. "What did you do...?" She had the gut feeling she has going to say Rory. God, she prayed it had something to do with Max.

"I pushed her too far."

There is something gratifying when you're told you were right or you found out you had been right about a situation but at this moment, Sookie wished more then anything she had been wrong.

As Lorelai started through the story of last night, Sookie stood up when the kettle hissed. She poured the steaming water into the awaiting mugs, watching as the tea bags floated around, releasing their flavors into the water. She turned around, mugs in hand and re-settled herself at the table while pushing a cup towards Lorelai as she finished, "I just, I lost it. I lost her."

Sookie bit her lip, knowing her friend was in the wrong here. "Don't say that, you won't lose Rory." she tired reassuring.

Lorelie shook her head, her sleep mused hair bouncing around her face. "No, you didn't see her face last night, Sook. She looked at me with this... she looked at me with this absolute disappointment."

Sookie picked up her tea, blowing on it, knowing if she took a sip it would scold her tongue. "Well..." she started slowly, knowing Lorelai would jump to the defensive about the words she was about to speak. "Can you really blame her? For the disappointment?"

And she reacted it true Lorelai fashion, an outburst. "I didn't say she couldn't date him!"

Sookie sighed. "Nor did I say that. But look at it from Rory's point of view, you are always finding fault with Tristan. No, let me finish," she said with Lorelai tired to interupt. "you, whether you do it consciously or sub-consciously, you always come up with new reasons why he's not good for Rory. But if you would stop and just stand back, you would see how much he makes her happy. I haven't seen her as happy as she's been in a long while. I know I'm not her mother but if she was mine, it wouldn't matter to me if I liked him or not, if he made her that happy, then he must not be that bad of a guy after all." Sookie sat back and watched, knowing she had struck a cord with Lorelai.

Lorelai scooted her mug out of the way before leaning down and banging her head on the table.

"Hey, hey, hey," Sookie said, reaching over and stopping Lorelai from banging her forehead on the table once more. "What's wrong with you?"

"I'm my Mother!" Lorelai said loudly in disdain.

Sookie grimaced. "I was hoping you wouldn't make that connection."

Lorelai gaped at Sookie. "You knew I was going Emily on Rory and didn't bother to tell me?"

"Well, yeah. I mean, it's not like I didn't want to but you wouldn't have believed me. It was one of those things you had to realize yourself."

Lorelai dropped it, knowing Sookie was right. She reached over, taking the first sip of her tea. "This is good." she stated in surprise. "What is this?"

Sookie perked up. "It's actually a home-made blend. It's a berry mix. It has strawberries, blueberries-"

"Sookie, I kind of got it when you said 'berry mix'." She took another sip. "Man, this stuff is good; we should put it on the menu - the Inn!" Lorelai exclaimed, shooting out off her seat.

Sookie could not help the laughter that bubbled up her throat. "It's okay. I called and told them we were going to be late."

"Oh thank God." Lorelai said, dropping back into her seat.

"So... what are you going to do about Rory?"

Lorelai sighed; the reality of the situation hit her square in the chest when Rory had shut the door to her room last night. She suddenly felt claustrophobic and had needed to get out of the house. She had just walked aimlessly around town until she showed up on Sookie's doorstep. "Honestly, Sook?" Lorelai chewed on her lower lip. "I have no idea."

- - -

Mom!"

"Yeah?" Lorelai said, poking her head into her daughters room, where the sound of the phone being thrown at the door was just heard.

"He changed the time!" she said, outraged.

"Huh hun, you're going to have to give me more then that. I'm starting to feel like Cher Horowitz here."

"Tristan! He changed the time! He was supposed to pick me up at six-thirty. Now he's going to pick me up at three-thirty."

Lorelai stifled a giggle that bubbled up. "And the problem is? It's one. You have enough time to get ready." Lorelai said, settling down on Rory's bed. When Rory first told her that she agreed to go on a date with Chilton's own Casanova, needless to say she was shocked. After all the time she complained about the fact he bothered her and nagged at her by calling her Mary. And here she was, stressing over what to wear for their date, she never thought she'd see Rory do such a thing. Not even with Dean did she worry about what to wear.

"He won't tell me where we're going. He only told me to dress casually."

"Ah," Lorelai said, dragging her thoughts away from the current state they were in. "Well, how about your cute little hip huggers and... that V neck you bought a few months ago and have never worn."

Rory laid the two articles of clothing on her bed studying them. "How do you do it?" she asked amazed.

Lorelai shrugged. "Years of practice. Now, what about your shoes?"

Rory raked her hands through her hair. "Uh, he said we would be walking."

"Damn. How about your flip flops?"

Rory shook her head. "It's supposed to get cold tonight."

"You don't want to wear your tennis shoes, that looks tacky. How about your flats?"

Rory looked down out her worn-in flats she was currently wearing, picturing the out fit in her mind.

"So," Lorelai continued, "you have your clothes and shoes set. What are you going to do about your hair?"

"I was thinking about a French braid..."

Lorelai shook her head. "It will take away from the outfit and it'll be prettier if you have some hair down. How about... A half-braided-tail?"

"A what?"

"Y'know, when you have your hair in a half-pony tail only you have it braided?"

"Oh, that?"

"Yeah, that, it will look fabulous on you darling." Lorelai drawled as she hopped off her bed. "I'll leave you to get pretty."

Rory gave her mother a tight smile. "I wasn't getting ready, I just like having these things planned."

"Yeah, yeah." Lorelai waved it off. "So, you want to go to Luke's with me?"

"Yup, let's go."

- - -

"Wow," Tristan breathed as Rory stepped onto the porch, her coat in hand for later on. Her modest black V neck hugged her just right but didn't reveal anything to his seeking eyes. Her light blue pants hung just right on her hips and the hair that hung down from her half braid lifted slightly in the wind. She shot him a nervous smile as she adjusted the purse strap on her shoulder. "You look great." he whispered, offering his hand to her.

"Thanks," Rory said as she eased her small hand into his larger one, her cheeks reddening. "You don't look so bad yourself." She commented as they eased down the front steps. His faded jeans hung loosely on his hips, showing her his choice of underwear. Boxers. He wore a dark blue button down shirt and a black undershirt Rory absorbed from where he did not bother to button his shirt up all the way.

She listened as his expensive loafers thudded on the ground below as he took each step. How the back of his shirt whipped around in the wind. She reached out to open the door but a soft, warm hand stopped her. She looked up, caught off guard. Tristan sent her a reassuring smile as he opened the door for her. She smiled at him as she slid down into the car. She watched as he shut the car door before jogging around to his side.

"You're not telling me where we're going, are you?"

Tristan laughed, deep and rich. "Not a chance." he replied as he eyed the fluttering blinds from the front window before turning towards Rory. "Sorry to throw you off with the new time, I thought of something and I knew that something would take time. So, I thought if we started two hours earlier, it would be time enough. I didn't disrupt any of your other plans, did I?"

Rory too, noticed the blinds being moved around in the living room but did not comment knowing it was Lorelai. Lorelai had wanted to greet Tristan at the door but Rory had begged her not too, not knowing if anything would come out of this date so there would be no reason to threaten him. She was in silent awe as Tristan spoke, not having seen this side of him before. Rory shook her head. "No, not all. We don't really do anything on Saturdays. It was fine, really. I don't mind." she said, leaving the fact that nerves were jumping on a trampoline in her stomach. She couldn't remember being this nervous over something. Or someone.

"Just sit back and relax Gilmore."

Rory sat back, her and Tristan talking, words flowing like rivers. No matter how well conversation was between them, Rory became more anxious, more confused as they drove through Hartford then New Haven. She had been hoping that wherever they were going, she would figure it out by which way he was driving. But with both Hartford and New Haven out of the way, she could only sit back and wonder.

Rory sighed as they passed a sign telling them they were on Interstate 95 before letting them know Exit 4 was coming up in one mile. She stared intently out the window, wanting to try and figure out where Tristan was taking her. As Tristan took Exit 4, she looked at him confused before he took Route 137. Dammit, she had no clue as to where they were going.

She perked up in her seat as he turned into a parking lot. The sign reading 'Welcome to The Bartlett Arboretum & Gardens'. "You're taking me to botanical gardens?" Rory asked confused. She never thought about going to some place just to see plants.

"No, I've taken you to see botanical gardens." he chuckled as he pulled into a parking space.

Rory eased the seatbelt off her shoulder too shocked to say anything. Out of all the scenarios she thought of Tristan taking her to, this definitely was not what she was expecting. She shook the cobwebs from her mind as Tristan opened the door for her.

They spent an hour there before getting back in the car and heading to the next destination. She learned about different types of plants and flowers she did not even know existed. And how to tell the deference between ones. Seeing the beauty of all them, all of it, simply took her breath away. She had never cared for flowers before but this changed her mind. The scents off all the flowers mixing, mating in the air, creating a scent of its own.

As they reached New Haven city limits she realized it was already nearing six, understanding why he wanted to leave earlier then planned. "I don't know about you, but I'm famished. There's this place in East New Haven, it's great. I'll think you'll like it."

Did he have everything planned out? she asked herself.

Thirty Minutes later he pulled into the parking lot. Rory looked up at the sign. "Chilis? I've never heard of it."

"It's good, trust me." he smiled as he pulled her door open.

Rory smiled back. Realizing this was one of the best times she'd had in two months. Dean had never made her forget about everything but his presence and the tingling sensation she experienced whenever their skin made the slightest contact. Rory wrapped her pea coat tighter around her mid-section as the wind blew against them. As their shoulders brushed, Rory took a deep breath, deciding to make a brazen move in a split second before she could change her mind; she reached down, gently grabbing his hand, twining their fingers together.

She felt Tristan tense beside her. Stupid, she thought as she tired to ease her fingers away from his. She stopped when Tristan squeezed her hand, letting her know it was okay and that the attention was not un-wanted.

She leaned her head in towards his shoulder as the wind picked up, biting at her cheeks.

She was already comfortable in his company. As that thought raced through her mind, Tristan pulled the front door open.

- - -

"I so have to tell Lorelai about this place." Rory raved as they walked back to the car, hand-in-hand.

"I told you it was good." he smirked.

"And I believed you but jeez, everything on the menu sounded good."

Tristan laughed lightly. "C'mon, we have one more stop before I return you to your mother." he said as he opened the car door.

"One more? Tristan, are you sure? You've already done enough..." Rory trailed off, worriedly.

Tristan smiled at her concern. "It's fine Rory, really. I don't mind. And besides, when we get to this next place, I'm sure you won't care once you see it either." God, he wanted to kiss those candy lips that she was biting, unsure.

"Okay." she said suddenly, as if she was deciding something. She dropped into the familiar seat. "So," Rory said as Tristan slid into his seat. "How come you're not calling me Mary?" she asked curiously.

Tristan cocked an eyebrow. "You want me call you Mary? I thought you hated it..."

Rory wiggled in her seat. "I... it doesn't feel right. You normally call me Mary, no matter what. Now, it's Rory all the time. It's just... I'm not used to it."

Tristan pulled on to the highway, smiling to himself. He caught onto something she said without realizing it. She admitted that she had a comfort zone with him.

"Tristan..." Rory trailed off, hesitantly.

"Yeah?"

"Um, this is going to sound really bad but... can we not tell anyone at school about the date?"

Tristan cleared his throat. "Why not?"

Rory fidgeted in her seat. "Because if things don't work out I don't want..." she trailed off once more hoping he understood what she was saying.

"Because if things don't work out and if Chilton knows, they'll think I got what I wanted and threw you to the curb?" he filled in.

Rory nodded, biting her lip. "Yeah,"

"Okay," Tristan reached over, grabbing her hand. "I won't." he promised.

Rory listened to the light buzzing of the radio as they pulled into Hartford. The silence comfortable around them. She watched as Tristan pulled onto the roads and as he made many turns before pulling up beside the curb. "I found this place a while ago. I just drove and drove and then I came up on this place." he explained, opening the car door.

He must be tired of doing that, Rory thought as she stepped out. Looking for some sort of sign that would tell her what this destination was. The bell overhead rung as Tristan opened the door of the building. Rory froze mid-step. There were books. Lots of books. And coffee, she smelt coffee!

"So far, this place has the best coffee I've ever had. Even better then StarBucks." Tristan said, amused that she was still froze to the spot.

There were book shelves running along the store, covered in books. There were even books on the floor! Off to the left in the corner was a small coffee shop. There were a few tables along the side. "You can go ahead and look; I'll wait at one of the tables over there." Tristan pointed.

Rory nodded mutely. She slowly walked around, trailing her hands across the spines of the books. The only thing running through her mind was: wow! First off all, she could not fathom how amazing Tristan was being tonight. She still saw Chilton-Tristan but for the most part, she saw Tristan, the real him. It wasn't that she was surprised she was having such a great time; it was the fluttering in her stomach. The way she almost always felt disappointment when he had the chance to kiss her, but he never did.

Rory felt the tightening in her stomach, oh god, she liked him. She really liked him. And the fact that he brought her all the way out to New Canaan to look at flowers. As silly as it sounded when she said it out loud, it does not seem like that big of a deal, but to her, it meant more than he probably thought. Dean had never taken her anywhere, especially outside of Stars Hollow. The dinner was good but this, this store, beat it all.

Dean hated it when she went to the bookstore, she had to drag him in with her or bargain with him. But Tristan, he knows how she is and willingly brought her here to enjoy something that was his. Rory looked at the books in front of her, recognizing some of them as rare and first editions. As she tucked three books in her arm, she thought of Tristan and how he must be sitting there, alone and bored.

Rory made it out from the back of the store and toward the small coffee shop. As she reached the table, she placed the books on top of it and looked at Tristan frowning. "No coffee?"

Tristan chuckled at her pouting face. "Yeah, sorry. I didn't know what kind of coffee to get you so I thought I'd give you the money so you can order it." he said, passing her the money.

Rory smiled, putting the money in her back pocket before making her way to the coffee counter.

"This..." Rory said gesturing to the cup of java in her hand as she sat down across from Tristan. "Is almost as good as Luke's. Almost." Rory said before taking a greedy swig.

"You ready to go?" Tristan asked.

"Yeah, sure. Lets go." Rory, so caught up in the coffee, failed to notice her three selected books no longer on the table in front of her.

Rory slowly lifted her lids, realizing she had been dreaming. She had come home from school an hour ago.

School had been hell without Tristan. And dreaming of their first date wasn't helping.

_He had stopped to gas up the car before driving back to Start Hollow. Once more, the conversation flowed easily. As he parked in the drive away, he pulled out a bag and handed it to her. She had realized it was the books she found back in the book store. She tired to tell him to take them back but he insisted._

_As he walked her towards the porch, she noticed Max's car hidden in the shadows. Shaking her head, she turned her attention back to Tristan. She swore he was going to kiss her if the shrill thrill of his beeper had not had gone off. He gave her a hug, telling her it was his mom._

Rory pushed back the tears as the memory faded and reality set in once more. She was curled into a ball on the couch, silently crying. She didn't have Lorelai and she just pushed Tristan from her grasp and away from her. As she heard the front door slowly open, she continued to cry, not caring that the person would see her in such a horrid state.

"Rory?" Lorelai called out. "You home?" As she approached the back of the couch she heard Rory's sniffling sobs. "Sweetie?" Lorelai asked, walking around the couch and kneeling in front of her crying daughter. "Rory, honey, what's wrong?" Lorelai didn't expect an answer but tired to coax one out anyway.

Lorelai sat on the floor, rubbing Rory's back as her tears flowed down her cheeks. She hated the sound of her crying. Whether she was the reason Rory was crying or not, she knew she had to be there for her no matter what.

- - -

"Do you want to talk about it?" Lorelai asked as she gently brushed Rory's damp hair, from where her tears had fallen, back, soothing. It had been thirty minutes since the dam of Rory's tears slowed to a slow trickle. "Did Tristan do something?" Lorelai hedged. She knew she had said the wrong thing as her daughter became lifeless under her hand.

Rory sat up and moved away from Lorelai, her best friend, her mother. Away from the comfort of her words. Away from everything she's ever known. "So you come home and find me crying and automatically think its Tristan's fault?" she asked in disbelief, her voice still heavy with tears.

Lorelai winced. "Okay, maybe I shouldn't have said that but where is he? You two normally spend your afternoons together."

Rory looked down, ignoring the question.

Ashamed.

"I mean, it's not like he's given me a reason to trust him," Lorelai went on, ignoring Rory's fiery stare.

"You've had plenty of opportunities to trust him, but you didn't. From the beginning of this. I've tried to reason with you. Tristan's tried as well. But for some reason beyond me, you won't give him that chance." Rory stated calmly, not raising her voice.

"I've walked in on you two making out!"

Rory rolled her eyes. "And I've never heard you and Max going at it while you thought I was asleep."

Lorelai froze, shock rippling through her body. Her anger suddenly forgotten as Rory's words sunk in as embarrassment washed over.

"And let's not mention the hickeys _both _of you leave all over each other." Rory said, ignoring the ashamed look on Lorelai's features.

"I'm a grown woman; I can do what I want." Lorelai defended herself.

"But yet you're chastising me for doing the same thing with my boyfriend? I got him to leave the bruises on my neck so you wouldn't have to see them. Out of sight out of mind." Rory went on, feeling like someone else completely. "And if you must know, I'm the one that screwed up." She said as she stood from the couch. She walked into her room and changed from the Chilton uniform she had yet to change out of.

Lorelai had taken her pervious spot on the couch rocking back and forth slightly.

"I compared him to Dean." she said, leaving out why she had. "So maybe you'll get your wish, maybe Tristan will want to break-up with me. I don't see how he couldn't after what I did."

Rory left, knowing she left her Mother in a million pieces but knowing she could not make things better with Lorelai until she tried with Tristan first.

- - -

Rory sighed, stepping off the bus, wishing she had brought a jacket. As she slowly walked the block she had came so familiar with, dread settled into the pit of her stomach. What if he didn't want to talk to her? She honestly wouldn't blame him.

She coughed as the bus whizzed by, suddenly wishing she was still on it. As she stepped on to the green grass, she noticed a car parked in the drive-way. She hadn't seen it before but that meant nothing to her.

She looked at the thick wooden door, knowing that it stepped into the parlor and beyond that a grand staircase. Biting her lip, she reached over and rang the bell. There, she did it.

A minute later she heard the deadbolt unlock and Tristan eased the door open. Rory looked up at him, knowing she looking like hell warmed over. He didn't look so good either, Rory thought as took in his dark appearance. He was shirtless; his favorite pair of jeans hangs on his hips. His eyes dark, gloomy. His expression ragged.

As Rory opened her mouth to say she was sorry, but the wrong words tumbled forth, "I think I'm pregnant." Rory closed her eyes; she wasn't supposed to tell him that, not yet anyway.

She looked at him and shock was literally written on his face. He moved his jaw to say something but a voice from behind him said, "Tristan, who's at the door?" Summer asked, stepping out from Tristan's shadow.

- -

- -

Please, please don't kill me yet! I can imagine some of you want to, just hold off on the killing until it's clear, you can still plot :-)

The ride to New Canaan, I don't if the ride time is right, I just threw it together - tried to make it reasonable.

Don't forget to review!

**_Kelli_**


	9. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: **sadly, I do not own Gilmore Girls.

**A/N: **SO, just to clear something up, it was NEVER stated that Tristan did anything with Summer, and yelling at me over it is annoying. And puts you on the fast track to pissing me off. Clear? Now, down the road, as said before, it's not set in stone whether Rory IS or IS NOT pregnant. Please stick with me, I know what I'm doing. Further more, I have the rest of the story planned out, so I know what's going to happen.

Now, I know a bunch of readers out there hate pregnant Rory stories, and honestly, I am one of them so that should give you guys hope. The only high-school pregnant Rory story I like is "The More Things Change".

I will tell you something about this chapter before you read it, there is a twist of sorts. You don't know if she is pregers or not. And it's the longest one I have ever written. Plus, I changed around the way I wrote this chapter, if you notice, and like it better, let me know please! Hope you enjoy it!

- - -  
**Fairy Tales  
**- - -

_Cause when push comes to shove  
You taste what you're made of  
You might bend, till you break  
Cause its all you can take  
On your knees you look up  
Decide you've had enough  
You get mad you get strong  
Wipe your hands shake it off  
Then you Stand, Then you stand_

Her eyes locked onto his, not caring as the tears escaped through the corners of her eyes. She shook her head, taking several steps backwards before turning and running down the green lawn, stumbling as she did so. The only thing that she heard the was the pounding of her heart against her chest, the blood thumping in her ears and the soft thud as her feet landed on the ground only to push off again. She didn't care about the Gilmore Rule about not running. She just wanted to get as far away from his house as possible. She came here to make him understand the reason for the Dean slip, only to leave more broken then she thought she could be.

She focused on her steps, pushing the hurtful thoughts back, not wanting to completely loose it. Her sight blurry from the tears that disobeyed and left her eyes. The only thought that kept coming to mind, no matter how hard to tired to push it back was Lorelai. Now understanding how hurt she was. Though completely different situations, both felt a deep lose and hurt. She did not know how her mother could live with this kind of pain, she had only had it for five minutes and she already couldn't stand it. She didn't want to live with it, to have this. She didn't want anything to do with it. Nevertheless she knew that was one thing she would never get. It always hurts when the one you love most betrays you.

Just the image of seeing those two together hurt, she couldn't bear thinking of them in an intimate position. Christ, she didn't want to think about that.

The logical side of Rory broke through, reminding her that she did not have proof of anything, just assumptions.

She pushed at her tears with the palm of her hand while the other one sliced through the air around her as she ran. As she wiped at the tears, another hand clamped around her arm, halting her movements. She glanced at the hand before jerking it out of his grasp. As she yanks her arm away she looses her footing on the wet grass, falling forward, her elbows breaking her fall as she banged to the ground. She lets out a whimper as pain shoots through her arms, stinging. She could feel the yank on her neck as it lobs backwards before thrusting forward, inches from the wet grass as her knees have sparking pain shoot through them. She faintly hears him asking if she's okay as she pushes on her elbows, coming to rest on her sore knees.

She sees his figure drop to his knees in front of her through glazed eyes. She closes her eyes in hopes of making everything stop spinning, making her stomach churn.

"Rory! Are you okay?" Tristan ask franticly, his heart racing as he pulls her weak torso against his after she wobbled, almost falling back to the ground.

He hears her mumble but can't decipher what she said. He strokes her hair while rubbing her back, aware of the tears being cried unto his chest. Suddenly she pushes back, away from him. He sighed, knowing this was coming, just holing out hope he could hold her a little longer.

"Stop it! Just stop it. You can't do what you did and then get caught and try to... try to..." Her voice was heavy hurt and tears.

Tristan growled deep in his throat as Rory struggled with her words. "I did shit with Summer, Rory and it's sad that you think I would."

Rory recognized that voice. He was angry. It was deep and low, but clear and firm. She hated that voice. "And what reason should I believe you?"

Tristan inhaled sharply, closing his eyes as a hurt stung somewhere below his throat. "I have given you no reason not to trust me Rory. And it's beyond sad that you won't trust me at this moment."

Rory looked up at the face of someone she's come to know and love. Seeing his mask he wears for everyone else cracking. She also knew that he was keeping his lids shut to keep her blind as to how much he was hurting. "I do trust you." she said softly.

"Oh, you trust me so fucking much you can jump to the fact that I slept with Summer just now? Some trust you have."

"What am I supposed to think? You answer the door half naked and then Summer stalks up behind. What else I am supposed to think?" she yelled back, her voice still raw with hurt.

Tristan looked at her wide eyed before shaking his head sadly. "You're supposed to trust that I would never cheat on you. And I haven't. I shouldn't have to tell you. I shouldn't have to chase you and try to make you understand. I shouldn't have to plead my case with you." he said, chewing on his bottom lip, "Maybe you should go."

He said it so quietly she thought she heard him wrong but as he looked at her with complete hopelessness and defeat, she knew she hadn't as he slowly stood.

The way he calmly stated everything, the way his voice broke through his speech, effected her more then anything else he could have done. He was right. He should not have to try to convince her he didn't cheat, she should know. He gave her one last look before he turned and made his way back up the lawn.

A look that completely broke her heart that was hanging by a thread. He had tears in his eyes. She has seen Tristan go through a lot of things but never has she seen him cry.

And he was hurting because of her.

- - -

Stupid.

You think the word stupid and you think of Tom from Tom & Jerry.

Smart.

You think the word smart and you think of Rory Gilmore.

Rory Gilmore and stupid have never acquainted one another.

Until now.

Fear gripped her chest as she watched him leave.

He was leaving her, on her knees, in his front yard after she accused him of cheating, knowing deep inside her heart, he would never do that.

She rubbed her temple as she tired to figure the facts that led to this moment.

Dean. She compared him to Dean. The guy he probably hated most. Making him feel lower then hell.

Summer. She was behind Tristan as he opened the door. She didn't see her touching him.

Lorelai. Big fight with Lorelai. Defending Tristan.

Tristan. Her..., she froze, realizing she didn't know if they were still together.

As those thoughts ran through her mind, she knew she was making a huge mistake by not going after him.

She scrambled to her feet, ignoring the pain shooting through her legs. Her legs burned as she ran towards him.

As she weaved in front of him, she put her hands on his chest, ignoring the surprised look on his face. "Stop. Please stop. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

He thought about removing her hands, but ignored the thought as he looked in her crystal eyes. He could see the sorrow, the pain but even through all that, love shined still. He could tell that she was trying not to cry as she stood in front of him.

"Tristan, I'm sorry. I... I do trust you, it's just... earlier and then Lorelai... I just... I just wanted to blame someone and when I saw Summer, I - I hurt you. I don't even know if we're still together. That thought scares me so much. You mean more to me then you probably think, I don't think I'd be able to han-handle it if you, if we..." she trailed off, not wanting to say the words.

As he looked down at the girl that stole his heart, he felt the pain give a tug on his heart. He wanted nothing more then to go to bed and forget the last twenty-four hours. Earlier, he had wanted nothing more than for her to feel the stabbing pain that he had felt but seeing her like this, was killing him and he knew he would give in. "Rory, just because we're having a fight doesn't mean we're going to brake-up."

She let out a breath she didn't know she was holding as he reassured her they were together still.

Too bad his voice didn't give away how he felt, Rory thought as his emotionless voice filled her ears.

"I... didn't want to leave it like that. Without you knowing how sorry I am and how much I'm hurting because I hurt you. So yeah, I'll just... go." she said slowly as she back away from him slowly before giving him last mournful look and turning away.

She left it in his hands. If he wanted to talk to her, he could do it on his own time. And if he doesn't want to talk to me, he won't have to deal with my prying to try to get him to voice his thoughts and feelings, she mused.

For once, she didn't feel the urge to cry. She felt a stirring of vigorous inside her. She could do this, it was going to hurt like hell but she knew she could get through this. The Tristan and Lorelai debacle. Plus the fact she may be pregnant.

She felt a sigh rumble up her throat, placing a hand on her stomach. If she was, she knew it was going to be hard but she would have her mother, hopefully.

And she knew Tristan would be there, even if he hated her guts, he'd be there for their child.

She felt overwhelming sadness as she thought of him. She may have lost him. Trust was a big issue with him, and she had screwed that up_. Twice._

It seemed, no matter where, or how, she keeps having these waves of honestly – or lack of honesty with him.

It wasn't that she didn't trust him, she did, it was just everyone else she was weary of.

And no matter how many times he spent convincing her that he was faithful, in her darkest and deepest moments, his past came back to her. Shamefully, she wondered on nights when she was alone, and knew he was at one his parents rare functions, what he was doing. Or more fully, _who _he was spending that time with.

But every time she thinks those unsettling thoughts, she feels a pang of guilt for questioning his faith to her. Even if she never says a word to him, the guilty thoughts always lingered in her mind, making her the unfaithful one.

And as she saw Summer, in a millisecond, she felt triumph from her darkest self. Telling her, her unvoiced fears and thoughts were proven right before what she saw before her eyes sunk in.

Selfishly, she wished he never followed her.

She wished that she had never looked into his eyes.

She wished that he would just let her hate him.

What was that saying?

_Be careful what you wish for because you might just get it._

What was that other saying?

_Things happen that are beyond our control. _

_What may seem like a bad situation, can really be a blessing in disguise._

Rory scoffed to herself, there was no way in hell this was a bles-

She stopped her silent thoughts as fingers once more curled around her arm. She looked up questioning at Tristan.

"C'mon," he said, nodding his blond tuft towards the house that stood behind them.

- - -

She stood awkwardly in the center of his bedroom as he fished around for a pair of pants she could slip since the wet grass has soaked through the front of her pants.

She knew, she would be lying if she said she wasn't confused.

"Here," Tristan said as he entered the room. He had gone to the laundry room to try to find her something in there, since there was nothing in his room that would stay on her slim hips

Rory cautiously took the board shorts he offered, careful not to make contact with his skin. She trudged to the bathroom just outside his room.

This was beginning to be the most confusing day ever. She honestly had no idea why he had stopped her. He had not once spoken to her yet, only telling her he was going to get her some other pants to change into.

She had to hand it to him, if he didn't want you to know what he was thinking or feeling, you simply wouldn't know. No matter how much she's gotten to know him, he never elaborated on why he wore his mask so flawlessly. Or how it had become his second nature to hide.

She sighed as she shimmed out of her jeans, the thinking that this was only the beginning, registering in her gut. Giving her the chance to turn blind and run or to do one of the things she rarely did. Stand.

Tristan may have that mask, but he never fled a battle.

Herself, however, if nothing was as simple as she thought it be, she tucked in her tail and ran the other way, letting the battle simmer. Leaving it to boil and bubble over, leaving her with deeper wounds then she would have sustained if she had not let the violence the battle simmer, but instead face it head on, marching through the smoke and the flames with minor cuts.

She stood up to Lorelai but she so badly wanted to take those words back and tell her mother she didn't mean them, that they were spoken the heat of the moment. If Lorelai had returned at any point last night, or even this morning, she had a speech she had planned, ready to apologize, even grovel for her forgiveness.

She stopped, her brain pulsating against her cranium. She quickly finished drying her legs off with the towel in hand from moisture before hastily grabbing Tristan's shorts and yanking them up. She quickly threw the door open and walked towards his room.

She froze, seeing his gray, clothed covered back. He was bending over, picking up papers that fell off his desk, his jeans falling off his hips. She gulped, realizing he had nothing on underneath the dark denim. Dear Lord. She did not need this right now. She was mentally, physically and emotionally exhausted. But the smoldering fire growing in her stomach proved otherwise, as she watched him bend over, shoving his ass out further as he picked up a dirty sock that was sticking out from behind his desk.

She didn't think of how the sock might of even gotten back there.

Too flustered to avert her sight to something less arousing.

She really didn't need this.

Their relationship was hanging by a thread, and she was standing in his room, ogling his ass.

Jeez, how screwed up was that?

She felt the familiar tinge in her cheeks.

This was not happening, she thought disbelieving to herself.

He always brought out foreign feelings within her but this was ridiculous.

She adjusted her gaze on his computer screen as a cabinet slammed from the kitchen. She focused on the oldies car that was his background. It was his dream car. She couldn't tell you the name but she knew he loved that car, it had been on his computer since the beginning, unlike Dean, who had a picture of them for his background.

Oh God. What kind of horrible girlfriend was she?

One who measured her current boyfriend by her ex.

That's the kind she was. A stupid, hypocrite girlfriend.

Tears once more pooled in her eyes as she thinks of Tristan. How he's been waiting for six painful months for her to be ready to be open with their relationship. How he's jumped through her road blocks. All the while never telling her how frustrated, he was getting.

The tears oozed out of her eyes, betraying, as she realizes she never stopped to think about his feelings through this whole ordeal.

He deserved better. Someone who wasn't so caught up in her own little world to realize how much pain she might be putting him through. Someone who wasn't afraid, weary even, to be seen with him and not worry about what surrounding people thought of her when they saw her on his side. He deserved so much more then she could give him.

She could feel her chest tightening, her lungs burning for air she refused to breath. She couldn't find in herself inhale the air. She felt her blood quicken, pounding through her veins. Her heart rates sped. She could feel it all but still refused to inhale. She could only guess that her face was tinting to a blue color. She opened her jaw in a quick moment, trying to breath only to find something clogging her throat. Her chest heaved even more as she gasped for the air she so desperately wanted. She felt the burning spread to her toes, up her legs, through her arms and pound against her erratically beating heart.

She swayed on her legs, no longer able to keep herself steady, her vision blurring. She couldn't tell what was in front of her, the colors blending into one. Her knees weak, she stumbled, trying to remain on her legs while making her silent, futile, attempt to breath. She could feel her conscious slipping away from her grasp, just beyond her reach. She couldn't hear anything except for the pounding in her ears. She couldn't see anything beyond grays. She felt a stinging on her cheek. Too concerned with her struggle, she paid no mind to it until there was another one, sharper then the last.

She painstakingly opened her eyes, disoriented. Her head lobbed backyards as she waited for her sight to gain focus – if it would. Something snapped in her and she gazed drunkenly at Tristan's frightened face, penetrating to his bones. She faintly heard a muffled sound, not knowing where it came from, just wanting to give and drift to the blinding light that awaited her. She heard another muffled sound, this one sounding like a yell. She didn't know how long it was but felt something icy burn her face. Her eyes snapped open, Tristan's growl sounding dull in her ears. "Dammit, Rory! Breath!"

She heard another voice but didn't put much stock in trying to figure it out. "Don't tell me not to freak out! She's turning fucking purple and I don't know what to do!" She felt his warm body slip away. She felt a hard burning on her skin followed by another icy burn. Something coiled and she saw the red hair that she knew belong with Elizabeth. She saw beyond her, seeing Tristan on the edge of his bed, rocking back and forth. Seeing the fear streaked across his gorgeous face. And just as suddenly as it started, she engulfed a large breathe of oxygen.

She dropped to her knees, dragging in ragged breathes, a new burning sensation flowing within her – burning relief. She chocked back sobs as she drew in deep breaths. She still felt the icy stabs of the ice water prickling along her face. She rubbed her hands up and down her frigid face, still feeling the pain from the slaps and the icy daggers. She bowed her head, her hand covering her mouth to keep her sobs, suppressing her cries. As she fell apart on his floor, her face covered in cold sweat mixed with her salty tears. Her walls were crumbling around her as she knew it, as she allowed the tears she refused to cry stream.

- - -

Rory hesitantly stepped down the stairs. She had not seen Tristan nor Elizabeth since she asked them to give her a few minutes to compose herself after she clung to Tristan, letting the built dam burst. During in which, she was painfully aware of his mother hovering in the background. It had been fifteen minutes and she still had the urge to close her swollen lids. Washing her face had helped but not completely wiped away her brutal appearance.

She slowly walked towards the kitchen, where the clatter of dinner being prepared was heard. She walked in, seeing Tristan setting at one of the four barstools at the counter as Elizabeth fluttered around, making supper. Both chatting lightly, but the worried remembrance still etching their features.

Her heart fluttered warmly at the sight. She had the fleeting thought to turn and leave them be, letting them converse without them having to worry about her. Before she could decide, Elizabeth turned around, giving her an easy, warm smile. Her eyes not judging. "Rory, dear. Come on in, dinner should be ready here shortly." If there ever came a time when Rory was more grateful that Elizabeth liked her, it was now, she decided as she strode towards the stool next to Tristan's.

She was tense as she set next to him, not knowing what to expect since they still had yet to have their talk. Her back rigid as she glanced at him. He was hunched over, leaning onto the counter top, a loose smile hanging on his lips. She looked over at him as his hand grazed hers, lapsed tightly atop her thighs. She loosened her fingers from around each other and allowed his hand to slip into hers, holding onto it tightly.

Her stiff back relaxed as he began to rub his thumb along her knuckles, reassuring. She turned, giving him a smile of thanks, knowing neither of them had to speak to know what was being said through their bodies. She slowly removed her eyes from Tristan to watch Elizabeth prattle around the kitchen. Her gray pinstriped slacks whipped around as she jogged to the refrigerated.

Rory sighed, leaning over and resting her head against his shoulder. Knowing that they needed to talk, knowing they would speak later but as she sat here, with him, watching his mother make supper, she knew it was enough for right now.

It appeared that he had already forgiven her but she did not know if she would be able to forgive herself.

She cringed as the thought raced through her mind, not wanting to think about it right and was thankfully when she heard, "Liz? Alex?"

She coughed as a snicker rose, waiting to burst as she saw Tristan cringe beside her.

"We're in here!" Elizabeth called out as she tossed onions into the pan on the stove.

Rory recognized the man as Dimitri Dugrey as he strode into the kitchen, with light brown hair, gray starting to color at the temple, kept the mess of his hair lazily spiked over his head. He was 6 foot 1, supporting the most memorizing green eyes she'd ever seen.

Rory had been shocked the first time she had met his parents, learning that he looked more like his mother, but even that had it's own limits. She had laughed as Elizabeth had informed her that when Tristan was old enough, it was rumored she had cheated on her husband, which was the only "reasonable" excuse for why Tristan didn't closely resemble Elizabeth nor Dimitri.

Elizabeth had shown her a picture of her grandfather. Rory had been speechless as she looked down at the picture that could have been Tristan in years, learning that Tristan looked like great grandfather.

"Ah, is that my son? Setting at the counter with... I forgot who she was? Liz, can you please tell me who these people are." Dimitri joked as he shrugged out of his jacket.

"Funny. Real funny." Tristan said dryly as swung around to face his father.

"It's perfectly reasonable, when was the last time you spent in your bed?" he asked, keeping his tone joking.

Tristan glared at his father before turning to his original position.

Rory sat there, listening to the easy banter, enjoying being around the Dugrey's. "Rory, all joking aside, it's nice to see you again. I was starting to think you kidnapped the poor boy."

Before she could respond, Tristan spoke. "If she kidnapped me, it wasn't forceful, I willingly went."

She heard Elizabeth gasp from in front of her, as she faced Tristan with wide eyes. "My own son. He doesn't love us anymore, Mitri, what are we ever going to do?" She cried out.

"I don't know," he confessed, coming to stand beside his wife. "I think we need a therapist – I don't know if I'll be able to handle it."

"You know what, you two, are ganging up on me." Tristan said, pointing at his parents.

"Who? Us? Never!" Elizabeth said incredulously.

"We would never do such a thing. Were we ganging up on poor Alex over here?" Dimitri asked innocently.

Rory smothered a grin that rose at her cheeks. "Nope. Not that I saw." She mewled as Tristan removed his arm that had been casually draped over her shoulders.

"Traitor." Tristan said, sticking his chin up in the air. "I can see no one wants me around here, I'll just leave..." he said as he started to slide of the barstool only to have Rory claw into his arm, holding onto him. Her eyes pleading with his. He nodded slightly, knowing what she was trying to say mutely. He sat back down, putting his arm back in it's position on her shoulders.

As he looked back towards his parents, he saw their back turned toward them, speaking in hushed tones, no doubt witnessing Rory's reaction and wanting to give some privacy. He looked down and saw Rory staring intently at the counter top, her cheeks flushed from her own reaction to his joke. He leaned down, letting his warm breath know he was there. "It's okay."

- - -

"Rory, can I speak with you for a minute?"

Rory froze. She had the feeling this was coming. The four of them were sitting around the table, desert plates empty, stomachs satisfied. During dinner, the conversation had been light, never straying to heavy topics. They had been drinking coffee, chattering lightly until Elizabeth rushed over that line that had yet to be broken.

She had been watching Elizabeth out of the corner of her eye for the past five minutes, nervously waiting for something to happen the moment she saw Elizabeth eye her.

Rory nodded, silently standing, feeling Tristan's worried eyes on her. She followed Elizabeth out of the kitchen, and stayed close behind her as she led her to the front of the house. As they stepped in the foyer, she got a gut wrenching thought that Elizabeth was showing her out. Her nerves settled slightly as she led her to the room across from the parlor.

She stepped into the door that Mrs. Dugrey was holding open for her. She looked around, realizing they were in the study. A sense of foreboding washed over her as she walked deeper into the room. The dark wood surrounding her left her with a feeling that she was walking to her shadowy end. She may have had the dark hair but she didn't fit in the room. It didn't swell to fit her, she did not belong in this room.

The desk was snugged against the side of the wall with an old fashioned love seat setting across from it. She gave the room a quick sweep. It looked like the rest of the house. Lived in. With dark walnut flooring. The dark red walls hidden behind mahogany cabinets. One of which she could tell was held for liquor. As the lights were flicked on, she was hoping it would it warm the dark room but her hopes were dashed as the dim lighting just gave off a soft glow.

She stood between the desk and sofa, stupidly, waiting for Elizabeth to motion which one to take a seat at. The bats in her abdomen clawing at her stomach lining. She could feel the food she digested not even thirty minutes ago, churning in the pit of her belly.

She took a hesitant step towards the sofa, where Elizabeth had just set. "Come on, Rory, I'm not going to bite." she said, seeing the apprehensive look twisting on the young girl' face.

Rory took her seat on the cushions, her poster stiff with fear.

"Before I start, I want you to know my thoughts are no refection of Tristan's." she cleared her throat, gathering her thoughts. "I know something happened between you two earlier, on the way to school. What that is, I don't know because Tristan won't say anything. However I do know that he was more hurt then anything I've ever seen." she spoke slowly, using a voice Lorelai would have called a 'sales man voice'. "To be honest, I had the intent to make sure you two had a week to cool off but... Tristan was frank about staying out this, it wasn't any of my concern."

Rory's heart clutched, even after everything she put him through, he fought with his mother over her. That thought alone brought a swarm of tears.

"Now, before I go any further, I want to explain something. Something I'm sure that gave you the wrong impression. And to be honest, if I were in your shoes, it would have looked the same to me. Summer was over here for her mother. The last time the Anderson' came over for dinner, I made a dish that Olivia fell in love with, and wanted her cooks to fix it for them tonight and she sent Summer over to receive it. I swear, she couldn't have been over here five minutes before you rung the bell. I was on the phone talking to Dimitri and I misplaced the recipe and I guess she was board of waiting around, and trailed Tristan to the door..."

It was official, Rory Gilmore was the worst girlfriend. Ever. The guilt that had been placed on her heart felt ten times heavier as Elizabeth spoke.

"I was off the phone and rummaging through my cook books as she walked back into the room..." she trailed off, letting Rory put the pieces in place.

Rory looked at her quizzically, not comprehending.

Elizabeth sighed, letting the air rush through her pink lips. "Does your mother know?"

"Does...? Oh! You mean...that." Rory said, another puzzle piece falling into place. "No." she said, looking at her cupped hands as she twisted them nervously in her lap. "I thought Tristan should be the first to know. Besides, my mother and I aren't getting along at the moment." she said in a ruffled voice, almost afraid to speak the words aloud.

Elizabeth nodded sympathetically, gently easing herself over and wrapping a comforting arm around the girl she considered a daughter. "Yeah, Tristan said it's really tearing you up. You know, if you need someone to talk to, and you don't think Tristan can understand, I'm always here – if you want."

It didn't feel weird to have her boyfriends' mother comforting as she thought it would be. She could feel the truth in Mrs. Dugrey's words, knowing she meant them. Rory nodded slowly, somehow feeling the warmth of Elizabeth's words wash over her. "I bluntly compared him to my ex-boyfriend." she started to explain, the words flowing like a river. "We were playing slug bug and he barely hit me and I said my ex wouldn't have done that. I don't even like that game. I was just using it as a distraction. I told him I thought about my mother, and I was but I was also thinking if I had stayed with Dean, I wouldn't be ten days late. However would I have been as happy as Tristan makes me? No, probably not but I just... Lorelai's biggest for fear was that I'd end up like... like her."

She held her hands up, blocking the tears that were leaving her eyes as she spoke. She felt the weight on her shoulders ease as she finally spoke the words that would free her but it did nothing for the guilt that was linked around her heart.

"Shh." Elizabeth cooed as she rocked both of them back and forth, trying to calm the brunet down.

"And I accused him, in the yard, of ch-cheating on m-me w-with Sum-mer. I... messed up. I'm so scared he's going to break-up with me. I mean, I'd deserve it, after everything I did to him today, but I..." the rest of her words were lost as a fresh bout of tears sprang forward, gushing out of her eyes.

Elizabeth felt for this girl, she really did. She may of caused her boy heartache but she'd bet it was nothing to the degree of the heart wrenching pain this girl in her arms was in. When she had offered Rory someone she could talk to, she didn't think the girl would. She was privet and didn't like crying in front of people, and yet, here she was.

She stroked her hair and whispered mothers words as Rory calmed down enough. She pulled back so she could look at her puffy eyes. "He hasn't talked to me about it, nor will he but I don't think Tristan is going to break-up with you. I can't tell you how I know, but I do. And second, don't take this the wrong way but there are two things that Tristan hates more then anything in the world. Dis-honest and cheaters. And your accusing him of cheating on you, probably hurt more then you know." she said carefully, making sure Rory knew what she was saying.

Rory nodded tiredly. "I know, I do, I just..."

Elizabeth shook her head, cutting her off. "No, Rory. He _really hates _that."

Rory looked up at her bemused, not knowing what she trying to say.

She watched as Elizabeth struggled slightly for the right words, "If you had met Tristan two years earlier, you would see a completely different family. We weren't always like we are now. When Tristan was fourteen, I found out Dimitri had an affair. And we were separated for six months. We tired so hard to keep Tristan out of our way, never make him choose which parent but he choose me no matter what. And for the longest of times, he couldn't stand to be in the same room as his father without glaring at him. He'd always make snarky remarks to him, always disobeyed him.

"Dimitri moved back into the house after the six months, if I had thought anything with that boy was hard until then, that proved me wrong." she said, her memories washing over her. "Dimitri and I were working on our relationship and I was building my trust for him again. And one day, we forced Tristan to sit down, we talked to him and made sure he listened. He struggled for a while but one day, I don't really know what happened, the fight just left him. Mitri and I have both asked him about it, and he just shrugs. Sometimes, I see that fight in him rising but it always drops when it rises."

"That's... wow. I didn't know that." Rory breathed, not understanding the new feelings rising within her.

Elizabeth nodded, clearly not surprised. "He doesn't like to talk about. I think he's ashamed of it. But I don't really know, he always runs whenever the subject comes up."

"Thank you," Rory said quietly, still submerged in the new information that she learned.

"No need to thank me, I don't mind. But there is something I want to ask you. Would you mind spending the night here? There are storms rolling in and it's going to be dangerous."

"Um, sure. I don't mind, besides, Tristan and I still have to talk..."

"Wonderful. I'm sure Tristan's up in his room, you can go on up and I'll call your mother."

"Thanks, Elizabeth. I appreciate it." Rory said as she stood from the sofa, not catching the hard edge in Elizabeth's voice.

"You're welcome, darling. Tell Tristan I want to talk to him when you're done with him." she smiled politely, waiting for the click of the door to shut before she walked over to the desk.

- - -

As she took each stair, she could feel the clawing in her stomach increase. She just wanted to run back down the stairs and out the door into the humid night. But running would make this situation worse. Worse then it already was. She honestly didn't know why Tristan would _want _to stay with her. She had been stripped of her facades that were built with her walls, keeping her safe and beautifully hidden. She could feel the last of the walls trembling with each step on the stairs, quivering the further she walked into her bleak fate.

She could feel the weight on her heart. It felt like it was weighing her down, making each move unbearably painful. Her and Lorelai make fun of scenes like these in movies all the time, saying how cliché and stupid they were but as she felt the raw emotion travel through her blood, it suddenly didn't seem so funny. She felt the clinching pain that surrounded her, refusing to give her an inch of room to breath and feel something other then this drowning pain. This morning seemed so far away, it felt like days since this misery had consumed her.

The guilt that loomed over her was like her own rainy day cloud. She could hear the sobs her conscious, begging for air as they drowned in the onus that seemed to devour her.

If she was being honest, she had a small part of her question him, question his honesty and intentions. Whether the thing he said to her were the honest to God truth or if it was some ploy to get to her. She had felt those gut wrenching stabs every time those thoughts came to mind, and as she trekked up the stairs, she could feel the blood oozing out of those many wounds. She yelled at Lorelai for doing the same thing and yet, she thought the same thoughts. She was a hypocrite. The reason she was furious with her mother was because she had pegged Tristan in the same light in which she secretly thought of him.

How could she say she loved him? If you love someone you don't think what they are saying and, or doing is a ploy to get in your pants. She felt every fiber of her being turn her hateful sight on herself. It was all her fault, she didn't care what Tristan might say, this was entirely her selfish fault. He wasn't to blame in any of this. He was innocent in her charade. He was the victim – of sorts. He was oblivious to her wrongful thoughts.

She was dragging him down with her in his spiral of lies she created.

As her legs came to halt, she realized she was in his doorway. He was lying on his bed, ankles crossed and fingers locked behind his sun-kissed hair. She brought her hand up, knocking on the frame of the door. His head shifted slightly, seeing who was at the door before he untangled himself and swung his long legs over his bed.

Taking that as a sign, she stepped fully into the room. Knowing he would want the door shut, she gently swung the door shut, making sure it clicked into place before sluggishly making her way to his bed that was tucked in the corner of his room, against the wall. She sat slowly, making sure there was plenty of space between them.

The air around them was sizzling with tension. She could feel the electricity sparking throughout the room. She focused on her lap, stripping herself of the lies she might have offered him, knowing he needed nothing more then truth, even if hurt him. She didn't know how long they sat there, neither of them speaking before an unrecognizable voice broke it, it was masculine but held the softness of a puppy in but the words were firm, strained. "I don't understand. I've been thinking about it all fucking day and have yet to comprehend the workings of this shit ass day."

Rory nodded her head, not sure if she fully understood the situation at hand either. She looked over at him, noticing how tired he looked. How drained his features were.

"I guess the thing I'm most curious about is: why?" he sounded drained too, as if whatever had been holding him together finally fractured and fell away from him.

Rory sighed, knowing this was the moment. "I'm ten days late." she started slowly, making sure her words her clear. "And in the car, I thought that maybe if I had stayed with Dean, I wouldn't be in this current situation. Moreover, I was trying not to freak more when I thought of telling my mom I _might _be pregnant. We're already further apart then we've ever been and today, after school, I probably pushed her all the way to Alaska. Nonetheless, it was all piling up and on the way to school, it just became too much and I ended up hurting you. When I came over, it was to apologize, then I saw Summer." she chocked out a humorless laugh.

"I thought hey, he has no reason to be angry with me if he was cheating on me, and if it wasn't the first time, then hey, I was unknowingly giving you everything you deserved. But I saw how hurt you were and I knew how stupid, selfish and wrong I had been. I probably wouldn't blame you if you wanted to brake-up with me." She was glad that the tears were only building up, not falling over.

He nodded his head slowly, it was only golden blurs behind her blurry sight. "How long?" he didn't elaborate.

Rory swiped underneath her eyes, knowing what he meant. "The morning I spent throwing up. I didn't want to say anything, thinking I might be overreacting – that it could mean nothing." she sighed, glad they were talking, clearing the air between them.

Tristan nodded again slowly.

She wished she knew what he was thinking. His forehead was creased with thoughts. She had never seen him this still, this... quite. If it wasn't for their current standpoint, she would have been worried. She could feel the extra effort that it took to breath as she waited for him to say something. Anything. The worry tight around her lungs.

He rubbed his hands over his face. "What happened, earlier, when you couldn't breath?"

She didn't feel the relief she thought she would feel from hearing his voice. "I..." she paused, not sure if she should edit the version or not. "I was looking at your computer screen and..." the moment of truth. She wasn't sure if she could break his heart the way she was about to. She looked down, not being able to look at his face. "I thought of Dean. How he had a picture of us on the screen and then it occurred to me, I was a horrible girlfriend." From the corner of her eye, she could see the hurt and angry flash across his face. "That I didn't belong with you. That you need someone who wasn't like me. That you deserved better. And then I just, I couldn't breath. I guess, I was, in a morbid way, trying to punish myself for hurting you like I had and for being such a... witch."

She didn't bother with the tears that leaked from her eyes, not finding it herself to look up, terrified to see his face. Even through the terror she felt, she was glad she told him the truth. That she did not lie to him. She felt the bed shift as her tears fell harder.

She could feel the cold steel from the scissors that snipped the thread that was holding her together. She felt his warm fingers pry her hands apart, placing them around his neck as he scooped her up, placing her on his lap, letting her head rest against his chest as he gently laid backwards.

- - -

She thumbed through the pages until she found the entry she was looking for. Her fingers glided over the numbers as she read the numbers off. Taking a deep breath, knowing this conversation was bound to turn brutal. It only rang once on her end before a breathless woman answered, her voice thick with sorrow. "Hello? Rory, is that you?"

Elizabeth closed her eyes, knowing that she probably the second to last person in the world she wanted to talk to – the first one being her son. "Ms. Gilmore. My name is Elizabeth Dugrey, Rory is here and she's safe and sound."

"Can I talk to her?" she sounded frantic, the heartbreak clear in her voice.

Elizabeth prepared herself, knowing the worse was to come. "Tristan and Rory are talking things out at the moment. I can tell her to call you afterwards if you want..." she offered, hoping it would calm the woman's nerves.

"No, just... let her know I called. Is she okay, I mean is she..."

"Honestly? No, she's not. She's fallen apart." she said, being frank – sugarcoating never got you anywhere.

She listened as Lorelai took deep, steadying breaths. "How is she...?"

"A mess. But I'm hoping Tristan will be able to help her, he's good with her like that." she said, not thinking as the words slipped through her lips.

She heard Lorelai scoff on her end on the phone. "Yeah, because he's such a good influence on her."

Elizabeth sucked in a quick breath of air, feeling the sting of the words. "Then you apparently don't know your daughter." she said it calmly, it was one of her voices she used when dealing with society.

Lorelai snorted out a dark laugh. "I know my daughter better then anyone. I know her better then she does."

"I'm used to dealing with bullshit daily and I know when someone is bullshitting. If you know your daughter so well, then how come you pushed her away when she needed you more then she needed anyone else?"

She was calm, didn't raise her voice but it was firm and held authority in the smooth voice. She didn't know Lorelai from Gina but from what Tristan told her and what she heard from Rory tonight, she didn't partially care for the woman. You were supposed to keep your kids safe, be there for them when they needed you and when Rory needed her mother, she turned away. Refusing to believe that her precious daughter did anything wrong, that all the fault belonged with her son. Nope. She didn't like mothers like that.

Ones that didn't see their kids as they really are, seeing them the way they _want _the child to be. Knowing how Lorelai was brought up, she would have thought she would have never been like that with her own daughter.

"Don't you dare act you know me or my problems. You have no idea what you're talking about." Lorelai snarled.

"You're right," Elizabeth agreed. "I don't know you or your problems but I do know what Rory told me. I also know you believe the liability lays with my son." Maybe it was her immaturity shining through, but she felt a small quantity of enjoyment rise within.

"Because your son _is _liable! If it wasn't for him, Rory and I wouldn't be in this mess!" Lorelai yelled, angry boiling under the surface.

Elizabeth felt the first prickles of ire. Her voice was still as calm as ever, "So what your saying is, you'd rather her be with you. And only you. You don't want her to find someone who makes her happy – the way no parent can make their child happy. But wait, that's why you want her with her ex again, right? No. That's not right. You don't like my son because you think he's going to drag her into the world you left and you know you have no control over it so you fight it. But fighting her has pushed her farther away then you want her to be, isn't that right, Ley?"

Lorelai froze, knowing the only person who only called her Ley. "You always were the bitch, Lizzie."

Elizabeth laughed lightly, ignoring the painless jab. "You never liked me. Everyone in that damned school fell at your feet. You were just mad because I wouldn't let you walk all over me."

Lorelai hissed out a breath. God, she always hated Elizabeth, why did her daughter have to be dating her son?

"Small world, eh, Ley."

Damn her. She actually sounded amused. She didn't want to deal with this, knowing that Elizabeth had hit both nails on the head. "Tell Rory I called."

Elizabeth stifled a laugh, it sounded like she was gritting her word. "Before you hang up, Rory's staying over tonight. I hope you don't mind."

"The hell she is!" Lorelai roared.

Elizabeth sighed, her amusement passing. "Listen, it's going to storm, her and Tristan have a lot to talk about. The bus stops running at nine. So, unless you're willing to have Tristan spend the night there, she's pretty much stranded here. And if you come to get her, you'll be stuck here. With me."

"Oh joy. Fine. Tell her I called."

The line went dead.

- - -

"I don't have a uniform for tomorrow." Rory said quietly.

He didn't know how long they'd been lying on his bed. She had confessed everything to him. Her dark thoughts about him using her, just being with her so he could say he was 'with' the Mary. For a while, he had been angry. So angry he just wanted to leave so he didn't say or do anything he might regret. However, as she steadily cried into his shirt, he realized she was paying for it.

She told him about the argument with Lorelai. Told him about how she was afraid that their relationship was going to end up like the one with Emily and her mother had. She had let her fears known, and he learned that even though her lack of relationship with Lorelai was scaring her, she was mortified that when she told him her deepest thoughts, the comparisons to Dean, all of it, and because of it, she thought she was going to loose him.

At first, he hadn't said anything, just letting her talk, letting her get out of her systems and freeing her of herself imprisoned cell. Slowly, ever so slowly, he knew she was paying. And it wasn't the least but gentle. It wasn't kind. It was cold and unforgiving.

As he realized she was paying her debt, he realized he didn't want to loose her, even if her trust went down a few notches.

She felt his chin rub against her skull as he nodded. "That time you came over from school on Friday, you forgot to take your uniform with you. I've been meaning to give it back to you." he said just as quiet.

"Okay." Rory said before setting up sightly. A small smile worked its way to her lips as Tristan's hold around her waist tightened. Not wanting to let her go. "I'll be back. I got to go to the bathroom." she cooed, happy he didn't want to let her go.

"Yeah and I should go see my mom." he frowned slightly before setting up with her, his arms still around her.

Rory nodded tiredly, turning her body towards his.

Tristan gently eased his hands up, coming to take her face between his hands before lowering his lips to hers. Gentle. Nothing probing from a deeper realm within them. Just wanting to know they had one another. Rory pulled back and hoped off the bed.

He watched her walk out of the room and listened for the bathroom door to shut before moving off his bed. He walked over to his dresser, pulling out a night shirt for Rory to sleep in before he stripped off his own clothes. He pulled on his boxers and pulled out the first thing that he touched. It was baby blue shirt that was a little big for him. He groaned, pulling the ugly shirt over his head, to tired to look for something else. He bundled his old clothes up, throwing them into the hamper before walking towards the living room.

As he walked down the steps, he wondered what was going through her mind. All he seemed to be able to focus on was fighting off the fog that was sleep that was billowing around him. Just wanting this horrid day to end. He couldn't even pull enough strength to be angry. He didn't want to think, just fall back into his bed and sleep. Nothing but sleep.

His bare foot touched the cold marble of the foyer, the cold penetrating to his bones. He shudder as he walked into the living room, seeing his mother propped on the couch, her eyes on the book in front of her. "Hey mom." Tristan said as took the seat across from her, not trying to disguise his voice.

Elizabeth dogged eared her page and turned toward her son. "I was beginning to think you forgot." she commented. "So, how's Rory?"

Tristan leaned back against the seat, closing his eyes. "She's... getting it all out of her system."

"And you?"

"Am too tired to do anything."

Elizabeth sighed. "Is this the last time I'll see her?"

A smile crooked his lips. "No. We just have to work through this."

"Good. But I am going to suggest you stay away from Lorelai for a while."

Tristan's eyes snapped open, staring intently at his mom. "What did you do?"

Elizabeth rolled her eyes. "Nothing. I called to let her know Rory was safe and was staying the night and she... well, let me know her feelings towards you."

Tristan groaned, dropping his head into his hands. "Now she's really going to hate me." he huffed.

Elizabeth snorted. "That woman would hate a puppy if it imposed on her "perfect" world."

Tristan tired not to laugh. "But seriously, I hate that us being together has torn them apart."

He heard his mother sigh again before he looked up, meeting her important gaze. "You don't see it the way I do, do you? Yes, their relationship is important to her but when yours showed the first signs of threatening it, she stayed with you. As her and her mothers relationship worsened, she stayed with you so you must mean a great deal to her for her to fight with her mother."

- - -

"Hey," Tristan said, as he crawled up his bed.

"Hi."

"So, my mom said you can sleep with me tonight. That you don't have to use the guest bedroom." he said, flopping down in his bed. "That is, if you want to, I mean." he said quickly as a sour look crossed Rory's face.

He frowned. Maybe he shouldn't have told her that. He thought it would be fine, they were speaking, closer but distant from each other at the same time. He thought she would be all for it, wanting to be with him but as looked at her face, he wasn't so sure.

He sat up, tugging angrily out of his ugly shirt before slipping under the covers. He apparently had been wrong. She didn't want to sleep in the same bed as him.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Rory asked gently, pulling gently on his arm.

"Nothing. Just tired." he lied.

"If you don't want me to sleep in here tonight, all you have to do is say so, and I'm gone, outta here."

"Me? I thought _you _didn't want to sleep in here. You had this look on your face..."

Rory giggled as she lifted the covers and slid underneath them. "I was thinking about the last time, silly."

He wrapped his arm around her as the other one sought out his lamp, twisting it off so the dark could settle over the room, casting shadows. "Ah, c'mon. It was funny." he said playfully.

Rory snorted. "To you. To me, not so funny." she said as she snuggled against him. Glad they were on the path of working through this. Together.

As silenced lapsed around them, Rory couldn't help thinking how right things seemed to between them. Her mother was a whole different subject. Something she didn't want to think about right now. Just wanting to go sleep and remember how it feels to have this warm, fluttering feeling, surrounding her for tomorrow, the misery would come back. Trying to engulf her.

"I'm not going anywhere Rory."

Her body relaxed further as he said the words he had not said all night, she had pushed the thoughts back.

But now, she knew they were in this.

Together.

- -

- -

So, just to give you guys a warning, when ever the alerts start working again, about a week afterwards, I'm going to change the title of the story. I've been trying to think of a new one since "Fairy Tales" doesn't really go with it anymore.

Now, the song at the first of the story is "stand" by Rascal Flatts, I don't care if you don't like country music, check the song out. It's really, really good. And for 'just so you know', I kept changing my mind for the song at the beginning, I think I had four other songs I was thinking about using but I like the one I chose the best. Plus, I think it's more fitting.

So, hope you liked the chapter and please, please review!

BTW, has anyone on here read _Twilight _by Stephenie Meyer? Awesome book!!! Also, go check my profile out, I just about completely changed it. And I also added my Myspace link that way you can go found out what I look like ;-)

**_Kelli_**


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: **sadly, I do not own Gilmore Girls

**Dedication: **To the lovely Ali because we're missing you on the RT thread and it's just not the same without you. Hope you enjoy this one :-)

**A/N: **Ooookay, here's the brand spankin' new chapter of LW. Though I will warn you, this is a short one compared to last chapter but this would just be a filler. So, I hope you enjoy it all because I'm not sure when I'll have a new chapter out because of family things going on.

But I do hope you all have a wonderful holidays filled with family and cheer and loved ones.

- - -  
**Little Wonders  
**- - -

_So fall go on and fall apart  
Fall into these arms of mine  
I'll catch you every time you fall  
Go on and loose it all  
Every doubt every fear every worry every tear  
I'm right here  
Baby fall_

Burning.That was the first thing she felt as she slowly was brought from sleeping haze.Fire. Slowly trailing up and down her arm. It was a trickling sensation, causing bumps of flesh to break across her arm. She knew this well.

Barely opening her heavy lids, she saw the room was still dark, shadows still dancing upon the four corners of his room. A liquid heat running, shooting, through her arm, from her shoulder down to the wrist that was resting lightly across his stomach. A trailing heat, flames dancing joyously over her skin. She would swear that when she would look in the mirror later, she would see the trail the fires had left on her skin, almost as if he held the flames beneath his finger tips.

She could almost hear the burn as it sealed itself into her skin, forever to remember each and every touch he had made. She could remember ever one he had left imprinted on her skin, invisible lines only her eyes could follow.

Her eyes drooped more as his fingers came up to her skull tangling, knotting them into her sleep mused hair before he brought his hand, brushing her hair out with his fingers. He was probably deep in his thoughts she guessed as his fingers tangled once more in her hair before brushing it out.

She sighed, hoping it was enough to alert him she was awake before she scooted impossibly closer to his heated body. He slept with an extra blanket on his bed when she was with him because she was more prone to getting colder since she preferred to just sleeping in her underwear and a shirt. Even though he just wore his boxers, or even if that.

Feeling the light kiss on her forehead she had been waiting for before his voice whispered the first words of the morning, "Schools canceled. Too much rain."

As if breaking from his daze, she finally heard the rain splatter against the roof as the wind slammed it into the windows. She sighed, for once grateful that she did not have to worry about school. At least for right now.

If they closed the school for rain, which meant they thought the roads were too dangerous to drive on which meant she couldn't get back to Stars Hollow today.

Which, as much as it hurt, might be a good thing. She was sure she wasn't ready to face Lorelai yet. The wounds were still too fresh, too deep for her to be around her mother and not want to cry or yell at her for being a hypocrite and having double standards.

She closed her eyes, the familiar pain creeping around her heart. She knew that even if she did forgive Lorelai, it was never going to be the same between them. Not after this. They couldn't go back and pretend nothing had ever happened, as if there wasn't this huge distance between them, this hurt that was always going to be there, always pricking to reminder her.

As she laid there with Tristan, she could feel the warmth of his body penetrate and slowly ebb away to the cold that had settled inside her from all this turmoil. It was always going to be different now, she thought with bittersweet insight.

Without realizing, she rolled over, away from Tristan and curled into a ball, trying to protect herself from the harsh realities that were flashing before her eyes… realizing even though change was happening before her, without her consent to allow things to change, it was already happening. It was happening now and no matter how long she cherished and hung on to it, it was always happening and there was nothing anyone could do to stop it. The only thing you could do was adjust to it and keep in mind all the memory's you gained from it.

She felt a warm pooling into her shoulder, gentle, gilding. It was sweet, soft. She once more felt that warmth sink down into her skin, soothing that chill. It amazed her that the guy that could this; soothe her without spoken words, was Tristan. Looking back, she would have never guessed that agreeing to go out on a simple date would land her in her current situation. She could even twist it towards it being Tristan fault, for asking her out and being such a great guy but she couldn't do it. Wouldn't do that. It was wrong. Moreover, she had enough guilt to last her a life time.

He was being too nice to her. Too considerate but she also knew he would not leave her in the state she was in, and that thought alone made the guilt clench tighter around her. He should have walked away, should have broken up with her… she could list all the things she thought he should have done but the fact that he was still with her, through the lies, the hurt, the pain, made her heart flutter once more.

Why her mother refused to see this side of Tristan bewildered her. Lorelai had told her on countless times that it didn't matter who she was dating, just as long as she was happy. Lorelai must know how happy he made her. So unbelievably happy. Other then the few times he was an ass in front of Lorelai, she honestly had no reason to dislike him. Well, other then the times she had walked in on them but it wasn't like Rory had never walked in on her mother and whatever guy she was dating at the moment.

She just wished her mother would throw all pretenses of Tristan out of the window and see him as she did. This amazing, great guy she didn't deserve. Not after everything she was putting him through. It was almost as if Lorelai wrote up reasons on a piece of paper and drew them out of a hat and that was her reasoning for not liking him. Everything Lorelai had accused Tristan of, she, Rory Gilmore was a guilty partner in.

It was hard to accept, the fact that your best friend cannot stand your boyfriend. Not to mention confusing. Hard because if she chose to hang out with Tristan over Lorelai, Lorelai took it as her choosing the boyfriend over the best friend. Confusing because he made her happy and that was what Lorelai wanted her to be and the fact that she seemed so against them, made her unhappy.

She knew she had to make that decision. Make one or the other happy but continuing to try and please both of them were extinct.

In this case, she did choose Tristan over Lorelai.

- - -

_Hurling another small rock at his window, she prayed he wasn't asleep yet, knowing that once he was out, waking him took a miracle since he normally slept through his noisy alarm._

_Knowing Tristan, he didn't hear the small pebbles smacking against his window as the rain poured from the sky, drowning out much of the surrounding sounds. With a sigh, she rushed over the tree that grew by his bedroom._

_With the experience she gained from climbing Lane's tree, she heaved herself up, swinging her leg over so she was straddling the branch. Scooting closer to the next one, she grasped it before slowly standing and moving on to the next branch, slowly winding herself around the tree, climbing higher. As she reached the branch that draped over the railing of his balcony, she scooted down, inch by inch._

_Reaching the last of it, she held her breath, slowly reaching for the metal bars with her toes, before sliding down the rest of it, slipping on the soaked concrete under her feet. Shivering, she knocked on the door, seeing a faint glow from inside. This meant he was still awake; he only slept if the room was completely dark. Knocking harder, trying to make sure he heard her over the clashing rain before she tried the handle._

_Of course it was locked. Why would it be anything else? Making a fist, she lightly pounded on the door, hoping the noise didn't wake his parents. It felt like forever, with the rain continuing to pour down and the lighting flashing through the night and thunder rattling even her bones before she heard the lock click on the other side before the door flew open._

_Before she could blink, she was torn from her spot and her water clogged clothes were dripping water all over his carpet, the warmth of the house enveloping her. She didn't even get a chance to speak a word before she registered that he was leaving the room. Wrapping her arms around herself, a balloon of regret swelled within, thinking she should have done anything but climb up his window._

_Then again, she was pretty sure she wouldn't react well if he had done the same to her. It wasn't like she had given him any warning she was coming, it was just one of those cliché moments you only see in movies. She was staying with her Grandparents since Lorelai was at an inn convention with Sookie in Vermont and her mother doesn't trust her enough to leave her alone with "that boyfriend of yours"._

_She pushed away that angry, realizing she was ruining his floor with all the water but before she could take a step towards the bathroom, he rushed back into the room, several towels in hand. He dropped one on the floor in front of her before wrapping one around her, rubbing his hands up and down her arms and back._

_She looks at his face that was contorted in concentration, her eyes going wide; he had got fresh towels from the dry. The warmth of the fabric laying over her frigid skin, soaking up the water. __As she watched his face as he worked, she felt something swell inside; his eyes were restless, searching for any sign of injury. She knew no matter how many times he swiped the water from her skin, her drenched shirt continued to drip water._

_Just as the thought entered her mind, he dropped the now soaked towel before reaching down and taking the shirt of her freezing body. He turned around slight and threw the shirt into his bathroom, she heard a faint plop before she felt another warm towel wrap around her, taking more of the chill away. She felt her bra straps lowered as he swiped the towel over her the back of her shoulders before they her back in place._

_Reaching down, she slowly unbuttoned her jeans before she gave them a tug. She heard him swear before he removed her hands from the top of her pants before lowering himself in front of her. With a grunt, he had pulled her pants to her knees. Bending over slightly, she placed her hands on his shoulders, lifting one foot at a time so he could take her shoes off and finish taking her pants off. When he was done, he took the other towel and began drying her lower body._

_Once he had her dried to his satisfaction, he pulled her toward the bathroom, running hot water in the shower before he turned around and pushed her in there._

_Watching his back disappear back into his room, she let out a surprise laugh. It was surreal. She had showed up at his house unexpected, he dried her off, and put her in a steaming shower and disappeared - all the while a word was never spoken between them. Talk about strange._

_Forgetting about him slightly, she moved under the spray even more, letting the heated water cascade down her body, letting the current worry drift to the back of her mind. She tried to understand what happened to her when he was drying her off, it was strange. It was like something inside her burst and it bloomed, filling her with a wonderful sensation. It was beyond rational, who ever heard of -what ever is was she did- over a look?_

_Reaching out, she turned the water off, she stood there for a minute before wondering if Tristan was going to come back in before she stepped out, looking for a towel because he came back into the room, wrapping her in a towel once more. "I left you some clothes on the counter."_

_She stood there, bewildered as he left, closing the door behind him. It was so, for lack of a better word, weird. She didn't know that he was thinking, or even what he was doing. Shaking her head, she toweled off, enjoying the sensation of the heat the water left on her skin. Without a second thought, she took off her bra and panties before slipping into his night pants and t-shirt._

_Tentatively, she eased out of the bathroom, taking a quick glance around the room to see Tristan wasn't in it. Slowly she walked over to his hamper, placing her items in it before she stood awkwardly in his room, wrapping her arms around herself. Deciding it wasn't going to hurt, she edged over the spot he had stripped her down at and felt it wasn't as soaked as it should have been. Meaning he's been working on drying it._

_She had always loved his room. When you walked in the door, the first thing you saw was __h__is bed, it was centered against the far wall, the sheets a vibrant red. They were this amazing deep __red but at the same time, they were full and rich and held such life._

_Across from his bed was his bookcase, filled with fantasy and crime novels. On the same wall as the balcony doors was his desk, his expensive laptop silently setting there, his Chilton work strewn all over the wooden surface._

_Surprisingly, he had no TV in his room; the only one in the house was in the living room or the upstairs movie room. His stereo was on the lower self of his bookcase, his CD cases thrown where ever he tossed them._

_His walls, no matter how much he wished, remained white. He had them covered with posters and a cork board with simple things._

_Moving towards the end up his bed, he noticed the clothes thrown over the floor. Smiling slightly, she sat on the mattress, awaiting his return, hoping he wouldn't be gone for to long._

_As she sat there, her thoughts came rushing back, forcing her stomach to be weighed down by her actions._

_It was scary… she never would have snuck out of house just to go see her boyfriend just because she wanted to see him. She knew Lorelai would say it was uncharacteristic of her but the more time she spent with Tristan; she was beginning to realize she __**liked **__letting loose and just doing things that no one would expect of her. That people were surprised she did. She liked that Tristan understood it. He never pressured about anything, just placed the thought into her my mind and it was hers to do with what she pleased. _

_It was refreshing, to have someone in your life that didn't see you as this fragile baby that could break at any moments time but treated you like a normal human. Moreover, he had opened her eyes to so many things that she never would have considered before him. It was like he was a breath of fresh her, cleansing._

_Then there were the fights._

_Sometimes she thought those fights would be her breaking put… just to throw it all away. And there were moments when she truly thought they would be over, never to see another day._

_Looking back on it, it always seemed to be over trivial things. Though she did remember a time when they fought over Lorelai. About how she acted to cold to him, and how it wasn't fair and of course, at the time, she had stuck up for her mother, thinking Tristan was just being sensitive about it all._

_She looked over her shoulder as she heard a soft thump outside his door, thinking maybe one of his parents had woke up and was about to discover a girl in their sons room before Tristan ambled into view, gently shutting the door behind him._

_As he softly walked over to her, he stood in front of her, gently raising her chin up before leaning __down and pressing his lips against hers, ever so slowly moving against her. As he once more pulled back, confusion swam into her eyes, not understanding anything around her._

_He hoped on the bed, gently easing back into his position he was in before she had came and gestured for her to join him. Biting her lip nervously, she followed. No idea why her stomach was in knots… she'd be in his bed before and not in such an innocent way. With that thought thumping through her mind, she eased herself down beside him, heat tingling her cheeks._

_She tried her best to ignore the scent she strictly knew as Tristan. She propped herself on an elbow so she could see his face easier._

_As she looked down at him, she noticed how serene he looked._

_He closed his eyes, enjoying the warmth and softness of the sheets against his skin. "You know the funny thing is… I was thinking about you right that second I realized someone was outside my door."_

_Rory gave him a strange look, wondering why he wasn't asking her about why she was here. Why she wasn't with her Grandparents. "Aren't you even a little bit curious as to why I'm here?" she asked before she could help herself._

_He chuckled, letting it fill the air. "I was getting there… I just don't want this to end."_

_She felt something flutter but before she would allow it to take over, she asked. "What to end?"_

_He opened his eyes, letting his heavy gaze land on her, his eyes dark. "The fact that you're here, with me, in the middle of a storm… I don't know. It just feels nice."_

_And the fluttering was out of control, she thought as she fought to battle the goofy grin that was threatening to spill from her lips._

_"But now that you bring it up, why are you here?"_

_She let out a light laugh, understanding why she loved being with him. "Because I was still mad at Lorelia for making me stay with the Gilmore's and it was raining and I just," she shrugged, mumbling, "wanted to see you."_

_"Hey, hey." Tristan said, reaching over and gently bringing her to lay on him. "There's nothing wrong with that. I'm glad you're here." he admitted softly, gently creasing her hair._

_At being at such a close proximity from him, she could do nothing but soak in his warmth and smell, slowly getting lost in him._

_"When are you going to leave?" he asked quietly, almost as if he didn't want to hear it._

_Lifting her head gently, she answered in a hushed tone, "I was hoping I could sleep here to __night… if you want me to I mean. And sneak back into the Grandparents in the wee hours of the morning?"_

_A smile graced his lips as his hand rubbing up and down her back. "Of course. You know I'll always want you."_

_Rory blushed softly, laying her head once more on his chest, basking in the stillness of it all. No matter what, he had this effect on here that just made her forget about her worries and just let go and be Rory around him. She didn't have to pretend to be some perfect person because he knew no one was perfect._

_Feeling a small tug on her scalp, she looked up right before Tristan crashed their lips together. As his lips moved over hers, erasing everything but the feel of his lips, his body against hers, she sank into him. Forgetting the rain that pounded over head and thunder roaring or the lighting that would light up the sky every few minutes. It was just the two of them._

_His hands roamed and rubbed where ever they could reach, causing her flesh to burn with his magic hands. His hands settled briefly on her hips before he rolled them, settling gently above her, never breaking the kiss. As she slowly lost herself in him once more, she tugged his simple shirt up, hating the small moment their lips were no longer touching. She traced the muscles in his shoulders, knowing how much it drove him crazy to have her crease his body. As the burn for oxygen came unbearable, they broke apart, feeling dizzy and light headed before taking deep amounts of air before going back in, tangling their lips and tongue together again. Slowly she felt the shirt he loaned her inch up until it was only covering her breast that he was alternating from squeezing and rubbing._

_She wrapped her legs around him, needing more. The heat was growing and swallowing them blissfully. Arching against him, she found what she was looking for as she slowly grinded against him as small burst of pleasure erupted through her. Feeling Tristan grind back, she felt the same sensation she had became all too familiar with. As his lips traveled down her neck, she couldn't help the small moans that broke from her lips, encouraging him farther. Not that there was much farther they had to go. _

_Feeling his lips meet her collar bone, he moved back, lifting her in one swift movement, taking the shirt with him before moving down his trek. She arched against his mouth as he found his mark, gently laving them as he continued to grind her lower body into the mattress. As he switched side, his hand traveled south, taking the elastic of the short she was wearing with him. She let out a small gasp as the air hit her heated mound before his fingers sunk into her._

_Her hips bucked up, needing more as mouth still left marks on her breast. It was too much; she felt a new fire raging, begging for more from him and as he added another finger, realized she was ready. So what if it was cliché, she just __**wanted **__him. So very bad and he was the only one to quench that for her. As she was about to come, he pulled his hand away and has he was about to slide down her body, she stopped him. Lifting his eyes to hers, he was about to ask but before he could, she gently eased up a little bit, kissing him sinfully before pulling back, her hands reaching down to slide his boxers away from his body._

_She could still see the question in his eyes so she said the only thing she knew what to say. Taking a deep breath, she said the words he's been waiting to hear. "I'm ready."_

_The confusion swept through his eyes once more before he understood, looking at her carefully before leaning back down and kissing her once more. "You sure?"_

_Remembering he had told her he would only ask once, she nodded, "Absolutely"_

_Before the word was spoken completely, he kissed her once more, reaching out to his nightstand._

_- - -_

The house was dark, almost as if it was night time as the gloomy atmosphere crept around the corners of the house. She had just woken up after falling asleep once more after she finally rolled over and her and Tristan talked in hushed tones, not wanting to break the mood around them until she fell back into slumber. Though she could say she was never fully out of it, she had felt Tristan gently ease off the bed once he was for sure he wouldn't wake her and slip into the shower.

As she slowly made her way into the kitchen she could see the rain pouring, drenching the earth as it fell, from the bay windows. The sky was charcoal, emitting the feeling of dread for those that hates this type of weather.

Smiling softly at the sight of Tristan setting at the table, his nose buried in the latest Stephen King novel. She slid into the seat across from him, knowing once he finished the chapter, he would put it down. Reading was his get-away. It took him from reality to fantasy where nothing was impossible and dreams weren't easily broken. It took his mind of things and when the occasion arose, his family problems or even their relationship.

She heard the small rustle the pages made as he turned them but she looked out the windows, watching the water fall. It was funny, she used to hate this kind of weather but since she's been with him, she's taken the time to realize that it gives you the opportunity to stop, slow down and just see what's around you that normally can't do. Being with him as changed her so much and she was glad, just wishing other people would be has happy for her as she was.

Her lips twitched at the thought before she once more pushed her mother out of her thoughts, refusing to spend the day dwelling on how their relationship crumbled to nothing but a pile of rubble.

Tingles shot down her spine as Tristan scooted into the chair next to her, pushing her hair off her shoulder and lazily brushing his lips against her neck. He did this when he wanted to slowly bring her out of her thoughts, especially when she zoned out. Biting her lip, she turned her head, meeting him in a slow, gentle kiss that made her heart melt all over again. "You hungry?" he asked, rubbing their noses together before leaning down and slowly kissing her again, making her head spin.

As they pulled back once more, she looked up at him, noticing for the first time he had a small amount off subtle growing. She gave him another smile, loving when he would tickle her with it. "Sure." she answered simply.

"I'll be right back." he whispered, kissing her one last time before getting up and shuffling around the kitchen and gathering what ever he was getting for her. It was so easy being with him, she thought once more, sure they had their worries but he never pushed her into anything.

She startled slightly as Tristan sat a mug of coffee in front of her before sliding a plate in front of her. Looking down she saw a plate of mini sandwiches in front of her. Making a small face, she looked him.

He shrugged. "That's what mom had lying around… I can get you something else." he offered.

"No, it's fine."

He nodded, setting back down beside her, placing his arm around her shoulders.

She leaned into his shoulder, slowly munching on a sandwich, just watching as the rain splattered to the ground. "Where are you parents at?" she asked, realizing she hasn't seen or heard them since last night.

His hand came down, trailing up and down her arm. "Dad left early before the weather got too bad and is stuck at the office and mom is in the study, looking over what ever it is she's looking over."

They sat like that for a while, her slowly eating the sandwiches, just enjoying being in his arms like she was. She knew they still had to go to school, deal with all of the mess there. She had to deal with Lorelia and they both had to figure out what was going to happen if she as pregnant. She had been afraid that because of all the other things she had thrown at him yesterday, he might decide that it wasn't worth it after all but as he stuck by her, she knew he would be there. Always.

"So…" she said slowly. "What are we going to do tomorrow?"

He sighed, leaning back so he could look her in eye. "Do you want to find out, if you are…?"

She knew he meant skipping school and to be honest, the idea didn't sound bad. This was more important. She nodded. "Yeah…"

"Okay." he whispered, leaning down to kiss her slowly. "I'm here."


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: **_sadly, I do not own Gilmore Girls_

**A/N: **So. I'm entirely sorry that it's been three years since I've updated, I never planned on leaving this unfinished, but life happens, right? Basically, I moved to California and hated it, lost my muse for writing and was working 40+ hours a week, so I didn't have a lot of time to write, and when I did, I hated everything. This has been sitting in my google docs for a while and I've been debating if I should ever post it, because I didn't want to give y'all false up that I was back. I've tried writing something to wrap it up, but I feel like that's cheating and I can't bring myself to do but on the other token, writing anything GG is hard for me anymore. I don't know if I'll ever finish this or any of my other stories on here and I'm sorry. But here's the next chapter that, hopefully, ends on a slightly happier note.

The grammar might be messy, it's unedited.

- - -  
**Little Wonders**  
- - -

_We were drawn from the weeds_  
_We were brave like soldiers_  
_Falling down under the pale moonlight_  
_You were holding to me_  
_Like a someone broken_  
_And I couldn't tell you but I'm telling you now_

She felt like screaming, crying, to yell at the top of her lungs, anything to rid herself of the weight that seemingly was attached to her. Refusing to go anywhere. It was pain staking to keep moving forward without wanting to relapse into the emptiness that was still chasing her, trying to draw her back into the the blackness that, she knew, was still lurking around, waiting for the moment to creep over her.

Yesterday she had been as fine as she could have been. It hadn't really hit her until later that night that she was really going to find out if she was repeating Lorelai's mistake. The hurt, the anger, the pain washing over her anew without Tristan to distract her and her thoughts. Though one of the best things that came out of the day was that it gave them a better chance to talk and hash things out. For Tristan to express thoughts and his feelings on things.

The fact that he was still being open with her, gave her hope that things would turn out okay after all.

In a fleeting moment, she had wished she could get through this with her back straight, head held high and without the track of tears marking her skin. But like Tristan pointed out, she wasn't like Paris and she was like everyone else. She was human and was allowed her weak moments just like the rest of the world.

It was scary, she realized, leaving behind your best friend as you grew, taking the changes in stride. While others tightened their grasp, desperately hanging onto the past and refusing to accept the things that were changing. She had thought she knew her mother better than this, knew she was better than this, but every time she thought of Lorelai lately, she felt that tug of disappointment in her chest.

Not just for her refusal to accept Tristan, but for trying to pile the blame on his shoulder. For thinking that he pushed her to do things she had happily taken part in. Sometimes even igniting it herself.

There was something about her relationship with Tristan that scared her mother. In the past, when she tried beginning the subject up, she would just brush it off with a joke and pretend everything was okay. But still, she could recognize the fear because she had felt it herself before she just stopped over analysing everything when it came to him. It just... it wasn't like she didn't want to, it was like her brain stopping functioning when she tried to figure out what every thing done and said meant. It wasn't something she was even conscience of until she was watching his tail lights disappear at the end of the night.

It was not until she was safely locked away in her room that her actions came back to her. Sometimes it would shock at how... willing and free she would let herself become. She always thought it was cliche before, but when she was with him, she didn't care what other people thought of her, she just wanted to be with him and be who she was because she knew he wasn't judging her every moments.

No matter what happened today, she knew she wasn't going to be able to regret anything that happened. There was nothing to regret about being with Tristan. And she had no control over Lorelai, she just wished she could have handled that situation better than she did.

Sighing, she stretched, thinking she was going to miss Tristan's bed when she returned home. Even though she missed the comfort of her own house, she still wasn't ready to go home and face her mother. Even knowing the longer she put it off, how much harder it would be to return to Stars Hollow.

Rolling over, she snuggled against Tristan's pillow, happily pulling it against her and inhaling his scent. She didn't know what it was, but he always smelt so good. It was always something vanilla and cinnamon-y with the pure male scent. And what ever cologne he chose to wear. It always baffled her how he managed to smell so good, even amongst the sweaty students in Chilton, he still smelt good - not that she was complaining.

As if he could hear her thoughts, Tristan stepped out of the bathroom, clad only in a towel he had tucked around the waist. Pretending to be asleep, she shifted her eyes so she could peek out from behind her lids, hoping he couldn't tell she had woken up. His tanned chest still held the fresh droplets of the shower he had just gotten out of. She watched carefully as a drop slid down over his abs and teasingly under the cotton around his hips. Biting back a groan, she closed her eyes completely, knowing if she continued looking at his wet body, she was going to be in even more danger.

Then, as if taunting her, that vanilla scent filled the room, dancing happily up her nostrils, almost like it was daring her to open her eyes and find her boyfriend changing right in front of her. Instead, a hand clapped over her hip, causing a startled yelp to escape her lips and a husky laugh from the owner of the hand.

Rolling onto her back, she saw Tristan leaning over the bed, one of his knees propped on the mattress, poking through the slit of the towel where to two ends met, showing his muscular and still very wet thigh. Without thinking, she licked her lips, suddenly growing hot and desperate for something to cool the room. Faintly she could still see the water dripping down him as his hair hung in wet clumps over his skull.

Suddenly, he leaned over, pressing his lips against hers in a fever that has been lacking lately. Rough and demanding as his tongue pushed against her lips, begging for the entrance he wanted. The heat was engulfing as she opened her mouth and met each kiss with equal desperation. For once, not thinking about that was wrong with her life but just simply loosing herself in everything that Tristan was. How she suddenly couldn't feel anything except the hand that was still clamped tightly against her hip, how the fabric she was wearing suddenly seemed trapping and itchy against her skin.

He pulled back and before she could catch her breath, he was sucking on her lips, tracing them with his tongue before nipping at them with his teeth. He fell forward, his other arm bracing his body above hers and before she could stop them, her hands were tracing the wet muscles she had been practically drooling over. His lips moved lower, pressing his lips against her neck, kissing anything that was skin, nipping and sucking at random.

She couldn't get her breathing even and everything was coming out in short, panting gasp as his hand moved from her hip, mapping her body over the itchy clothes. This felt good, to have his tongue and lips mark different areas while his hand did the work where his lips weren't touching. To feel that heat from his lips, almost like his touch, to any part of her skin, was a wild fire and once it got to a certain point, neither of them were going to be able to control it.

Needing more, her hands found his head, pulling their lips together, teeth clashing and tongues dueling as she arched into his hand. Her hands dipped lower, toying with the edges of the towel that was still wrapped around him. It would be so easy to simply ease the towel and have nothing but a gorgeous, wet, naked body at her demand...

She could already feel the effects their... moment was causing him as she brushed her hand over him, the vibrations of his groan going through her. Without a second thought, she raised her hands, pushing against his chest until their lips only ghosted over each other and his forehead touched hers.

"What a way to start the morning, huh?" the body above her chuckled before easing away from her.

"Good morning." she sighed, still not ready to open her eyes.

"If that's any sign, it's going to be a fucking good morning." Tristan smirked, looking over his girlfriends rumbled form, pleased with his work.

She didn't have it in her to suppress the laugh that came bubbling up, enjoying the light atmosphere that settled over them. It was enjoyable, even sensual, to wake up and be ravished by your boyfriend who is clad only in a towel.

It was so simple, she thought, being with Tristan just being herself. Not worrying about if she did or said anything, what he was going to think of her. She didn't have that burden with him.

_**- xXx -**_

"So," Tristan said, as he slid into his car. "how do you want to do this?"

At her confused look, he elaborated. "I mean, do you just want to go get a test from a store? Or go to a clinic...?"

Worrying her bottom lip, she realized she never thought how she was going to go about this. It was simple in her head, go find out if she was pregnant, that was that. She didn't take into account how that was going to happen. It was either pee on a stick or in a cup.

If she went to a clinic, she would have to wait for the results. If she bought the test herself, she would know in a matter of minutes but wouldn't know if it was 100 percent accurate. Sighing, she tugged on the sleeve of her shirt. "How about the... store? I'm not sure how much longer I can take not knowing if I am or not."

Nodding, he pulled out of the drive-way, his right hand gently resting on her knee.

The ride to a corner store was silent except for the radio that played but neither paid it any attention, too lost in their own thoughts. Wondering if they were going to have a blue-eyed baby in nine months and fight that much harder to support another life.

It was a scary thought. Still being a kid yourself and having one while you're still growing and learning and finding yourself. Basically giving up your life so you can give your child a good life with fond memories. _We're not ready..._ but again, who was ever ready to have a kid?

Closing her eyes, Rory leaned farther into the leather seat, her stomach knotted with nerves. She was surprised she had ate at breakfast, thinking her belly was completely crammed with the butterflies and nerves that seemingly found a new home.

She couldn't imagine what Tristan's parents would say if she was pregnant. They were hard to read... they seemed nice and relaxed but what would they say if they found out their 17 year-old son had gotten his girlfriend pregnant. They were Hartford Elite, after all. They have to have some type of preservation for their reputation. She had been at enough dinners with the Gilmore's to know that no matter who you were, these type of things always ended up in the tabloids. She also knew that having a teenager with a baby on the way, wasn't something people usually liked doing business with. Because, after all, if they let their child get pregnant, who knows what else they do? That was according to Emily Gilmore, anyway.

With a shattering heart, she knew this would be the last straw for Lorelai. There would be no return from this. She could see herself practically living at the Dugray's, if they would have her, just to escape the disappointment that would swallow her mother.

If she really wasn't pregnant, then there would be no reason to tell her. Not if she wanted to have a fighting chance to fix their relationship.

Sighing, she pinched the bridge of her nose. This was too much stress piled on her shoulders, she could practically hear her joints begging for relief from the pressure.

"We're here." said Tristan, his voice gentle with the rough edge around it that meant he was worried but was trying to hide it.

Biting her lip, she looked up, eyeing the people coming and going, wondering if any of them had to every buy a pregnancy test at her age.

Drawing a breath, she unbuckled her seat. "I... are you coming in?" she asked, looking over at him. She held back the gasp that came rising up her throat, startled by the intense, electric blue eyes that were looking back at her.

He spoke slowly, almost as if he wasn't sure about what to answer. "If you want me to..." he trailed off, hesitantly.

Staring back into the intense blue, glad her voice wasn't trembling like her insides were. "No. I think... I have to do this on my own?"

Nodding, he leaned over, cupping her rosy cheeks and pulling her face forward until their lips met in a slow, warm dance that pushed the bile back down her throat.

Pulling back, she rested her forehead against his, their noses bumping against one another. "I'm not going anywhere."

His warm breath washed over his skin, making his words even more emotional as he whispered words she needed to hear. His thumbs pressing and smoothing skin on her face, his eyes closed tight. "We're not going anywhere. It's going to be okay, I know it. We'll be okay, baby."

Her heart swelled, tears wetting her eyes as she heard truth and love coat each word.

Pressing their lips together again, she couldn't help but pour everything into Tristan, every ounce of love and hope she had. She hoped he understood as she pulled him closer, tracing his jaw as every moment she ever needed him flashed behind her eyes. He was always there.

She may have lost someone nil could replace but she also found someone who loved and supported her - no matter what.

_**- xXx -**_

Taking a deep breath, Rory leaned down, comparing the test in her hand. Well, tried to anyway. The moment she walked into the store, her hand would not quit shaking. And she kept looking over her shoulder every 5 seconds.

She could do this. She just had to pick a brand and buy more than one. No, two different brands and at least 3 boxes. So that way, if one came out negative and the other positive... she would have the third. _What if the third one is faulty too? Better make it four._

Deciding, she dumped the test into the basket hanging on her arm. Backing off the aisle, she bummed into something. No, make that someone, and caused the contents of her basket the fall to the floor. "I'm so sorry! I wasn't looking where I was going and I just..." Rory rambled, scrambling to pick the items up before someone saw.

"Oh don't worry about it. I wasn't exactly watching where I was going, either." The person, Rory found out, was a middle aged woman. She was smiling and Rory thanked the heavens that she wasn't angry.

Looking down at her basket, she realized she missed a test_. Shit_!

"I hope you're alright." the lady said, offering an apologetic smile.

"I'm fine, but thank you." Rory sent her a brief smile, her eyes still roaming the ground for that fourth box.

"Oh, it seems you missed something." said the woman, leaning over to pick it up. The smile promptly fell off her lips. "Oh. I see." was all she said as she realized what it was. Handing Rory the test before turning and walking away, shaking her head.

Looking around, Rory realized that she was getting a few stray looks. People looking at her basket, only to look at her again before their eyes looked back at the items she was carrying before giving her a look full of pity.

Swallowing the lump forming in her throat, she set the basket on a counter and walked out, not once looking back.

As she slid into the dark blue car, she could feel those first few helpless tears slip from her eyes.

She was right, she couldn't do this.

If a few looks from people she didn't even know could make her that upset, how was she going to handle it if she really was pregnant and had to tell Lorelai? Richard and Emily? Lane and Luke? Chris?

She faintly heard Tristan curse and scoop her up, bringing her into his lap as the hiccuped.

"I'm okay, I'm okay." she lied, smoothing her hand over and over the same spot on Tristan's shirt.

He snorted. "Yeah, and I'm the sand man."

Biting her lip, she inhaled. "I couldn't do it. I mean, I was going to but everyone was staring at me and they were giving me these looks, Tristan. I just... I couldn't help but see this pity they had for a girl they never met because she was buying a bunch of..." Funny, she could say it early but now, she choked on the words and pressed deeper into her boyfriends arms.

Tristan said nothing, just held her as she composed herself, rubbing her back and just being there for her was enough.

Rubbing the tears off her face, she slid into her seat.

"I'm so pathetic." she mumbled to herself, rummaging through the glove compartment for a tissue.

Tristan sighed, closing his eyes for a moment. "No you're not, Rory. You're human.

"I knew I should have went in with you."

Biting her lip, Rory looked away and out the window, watching as a squirrel ran up a tree. Wondering if the cute animal had any worries other than finding food and putting it away for winter.

Sighing, she looked over at Tristan. He was staring out the windshield, a bemused look twisting his face.

"Did you think I wasn't going to be able to go through with it?" she asked, adverting her eyes as his slowly slid to hers. They weren't the deep ocean of emotions she had seen earlier, they were cool and calm.

His words kept repeating through her mind, over and over, mocking her. _I knew I should have went in with you. I knew I should have went in with you._

Did that mean he didn't expect her to be able to actually buy them? Or that he knew she was going to turn tail-in and run, too chicken to buy them?

Even though she wasn't looking at him, she could still feel his eyes piercing her, pinning her under his spell.

"I wasn't sure." he said.

"How could you not know?" she mumbled back, still refusing to look at him.

Out of the corner of her eyes she could see his shoulders easily left and fall in casual shrug. "It was a fifty-fifty chance, Rory. You were either going to go through with it or once you actually picked them up, you were going to realize the weight of the situation and freak out."

It was amazing, she thought, that in their short amount of time together, he had come to know her better than she would have thought. It sounded so much like her, she realized, as he explained it aloud. To buy them, she was going to have to push it out of her mind and not focus on that fact she was buying a pregnancy test. But that didn't matter, she had let her emotions swallow her up and overwhelm her until she felt like she was drowning in the waves of shame.

She had thought that since the misfortune of actions with her dwindling relationship with Lorelai was going to leave her in a black hole of despair. Because loosing someone that has been your best friend your whole life, wasn't something you just got over. It was going to take a while. Even if they did get their relationship back on the right track, it was never going to be the same again. The growing distance between them had honestly started since Dean had tried to work is way back into her heart and she shut him out. Something Lorelai didn't quite understand, since he was, after all, the "perfect boyfriend".

Tristan... he wasn't perfect. In fact, no one was but he didn't try and act like he had it all figured out. He was... just. He listened and shared with her. He understood her better than anyone, even herself sometimes. He could be pushy but patient; he knew when to push her at the right moments. And when to back off. Or when he knew it wasn't the right time, he could wait.

He was everything she needed.

He was everything to her.

"I..." she cleared her throat, shoving against the thoughts still clogging her head.

"Hey hey. You don't owe anyone an explanation, Ror. I get it." he said, reaching over and holding her hand, running his fingers over her knuckles.

"I feel like," she paused, squeezing her eyes shut. "that I can't seem to do anything without you. That if you weren't around, I would be this huge lost mess."

_If if weren't for me, you wouldn't be in this mess to begin with, _Tristan thought while Rory paused in her speech, searching for the right words to describe how she felt.

"It's scary, Tristan. The only person before you I used to rely on this much was Lorelai but things are pretty much coarse between us anymore. I wonder sometimes if you realize how much this..." the words and emotion burned in her throat so much that they stuck there, refusing to pass the invisible barrier. She gestured with her hands between the them, hoping he understand what her words were failing to say.

"-means because it's not just some high school fling. It's real." Tristan whispered, reaching over to cup his girlfriends face, bringing their lips together in a messy and emotion drenched kiss. Her words hit the spot that was slowly scarring over, but with each emotional word and gesture, they ripped the wound right open without care, bringing every burning sensation to the surface once more. He felt like he was going to drown in the fervid waves that kept hitting him, over and over relentlessly.

It was one thing for him to push his thoughts and feelings aside while they were trying to figure out if he ended up getting her pregnant, but another entirely when he could hear and taste the guilt coated on her tongue. Because that meant he couldn't simply forget about it like a bad day, it was going to be there until one of them brought it up. It wasn't going to disappear because that's what he wanted. The words, the guilt, wouldn't let it rest until he was completely spent from bringing the hurt, pain and everything he had felt, back up.

When he had a free moment, a clear moment when his head wasn't swimming in the nagging guilt and hurt that he was refusing to acknowledge was lingering in the back of his mind, like a bad taste in the back of his throat. The scene, the words, that deafening moment he never realized he feared until the words were hanging in the air, was on constant replay in his head. Playing over and over, a self torture that was mocking him.

He knew if he told Rory any of this, she would rightfully blame herself, but he couldn't put her through that. Not knowing he could have possibly ruined her future, knowing as it was she still blamed herself, knowing her well enough to know that his words didn't completely pacify her.

The one thing Rory Gilmore always wanted, no matter how much it hurt her, was the truth. And that's what he gave her before his head could understand what he was doing. He poured it out, letting her waiting heart hear the turmoil that he didn't realize was wrapped around him until he heard his own jumbled words and hurt fall from his lips. This wasn't how he saw this playing out in his mind, they would get coffee, somewhere where she was comfortable and he would be as cool as the situation allowed him to be, clear headed and be able to talk like he wasn't on the verge of shattering.

Instead, he was setting side ways in his car with his body leaned towards the middle, shaking in emotion that shook him to the core. Running the sweaty palms through his hair, hoping that it dry them once and for all. He felt the most vulnerable and exposed than he ever had before. It was like setting here, slowly removing the mask and pointing to every scar he carried around with him and explaining them in full detail. His voice quivering with each emotional battle he over-came.

Expressing himself, putting his heart out there on the line wasn't something he had experience with. So when he finally stopped, the weight dissolving off of his shoulders and draining the energy out of him, the last thing he expected were a pair of lips gently tracing the lines of his face before pulling him into a slow and loving kiss.

He was wasn't expecting it but he welcomed it.

_**- xXx -**_

"You sure you want to do this?" Tristan asked, an hour later. Composed and ready to face what ever challenges they were about to come face-to-face with. He and Rory were both emotionally drained but there was no way they could return to his house without answers.

"I have to be." Rory mumbled back, squeezing Tristan's hand as she stared at the ordinary building. No signs that indicated what laid beyond the doors that listed the hours. She would have drove by it a dozens times and never known what it was.

Steeling herself, she slowly moved forward, carefully avoiding the flowers that lined the paved walk-way.

All she had to do was focus on her breathing and Tristan's warm hand in hers. She could do this with her rock right there beside her, even if she put a crack in him. She felt spent and just drained, like she could spend the next two days sleeping but part of growing up was owning up to your mistakes. And it was time for her to own up to all of her mistakes.

She knew Tristan had been holding back but in the car, his seams broke open and the flood came pouring out that he had been trying repair on his own. It was a burden and relief to listen to his words, as his voice shook with emotion so deep, it rocked her to her soul, stealing her smart words until the only thing she had left was just breaths of air she could barely breathe.

She could feel that the wall that was slowly erecting itself between them was crumbling. But she was still stuck with the words that would haunt her for the unintentional hurt she caused him. "I know you didn't mean it that way, because you can't even be mean to Paris that way. But fuck, Rory, that was like me comparing you to Louise. It's not easy to listen to, and it hurts like a bitch to top it off."

They silently made their way into the building, preparing themselves for what was about to come next.


End file.
